You Give Love a Bad Name
by Akasha617
Summary: Steph is trying to sort out her social life while dealing with murders and mayhem. Then a friend goes missing and her priorities change...
1. Chapter 1

This is my second Stephanie Plum fanfic, and I'm still new to this. I would love for you to read and review, and contact me for any questions or suggestions.

This is probably going to be for the cupcakes, since I think babes are getting more than their fill here, but I'm not sure yet. I'll try my best!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 1

"You what?"

I scowled at my live-in boyfriend, Joseph Morelli. Well, technically, I am his live-in girlfriend, since we live in the two-story row house his aunt left him when she died. A few months ago, I decided that paying rent and spending most of my time at his place didn't make much sense. So I packed my hamster, Rex, and my belongings and we moved in with Joe.

Joe looked at me with his chocolate brown eyes that I could swear would make Ellen DeGeneres melt and asked innocently "What, Cupcake, it's just dinner!"

'But it's Raaaangeeer!' I wanted to whine but pulled myself together "It's not just dinner! You invited Ranger to dinner?"

Ranger was a bad-ass bounty hunter and had helped me, Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter in training, out more times than I could count. I would definitely call him a friend, but that's not all I would call him. Last year, during a messy situation that ended in a shoot-out in my old apartment, I had to realize that I loved two men: Joe and Ranger. Joe, the handsome cop, whom I've known all my life. Like me, he was from the Burg, a part of Trenton where houses and minds where narrow.

Ranger, I had met when I had just become a bounty hunter, and at first, we were just mentor and mentee. We worked on cases together. That is to say, if I needed help, I called Ranger.

Joe was about 6'3", with milk chocolate-brown eyes and shortish brown hair. His hair always looked like it needed a cut, but it looked hot on him. He has long legs and toned muscles, and like I said, a look from him will turn you into a puddle.

And right now, his eyes were focused on me and his brows began to rise in an unasked question.

I bit my lip. It wasn't just that it was Ranger that Joe invited. It was also that he invited him for dinner, and between the two of us, we would keep a whole number of take-out and delivery places in business for years. My culinary specialty were peanut butter sandwiches, I varied the added ingredients. Joe's talent was knowing the phone numbers of our favorite places by heart.

"Yes, Ranger is coming for dinner." Joe said on a shrug. "He's helping me on a case and I thought it'd be nice to talk about it over food and drinks."

Of course he was right, and I didn't dispute the fact. What I was trying to do is come up with an excuse to leave the house and stay away while Ranger was here.

Bob sauntered into the kitchen and looked from Joe to me expectantly. Bob was our dog, well, he was mine before he became Joe's (one of those guy things, I guess), he was a golden retriever among other things, and he had heard the word 'food'. That always got his attention.

I distracted myself by petting Bob. There was no excuse that would get me out of this without raising suspicions. Unless someone called within the next hour and needed me desperately, I was screwed. Yes, it was only dinner, but the thought of having Ranger and Joe in the same room made me sweat. Joe and Ranger had worked together in the past, and they respected each other to some extend. But Joe was aware of the…chemistry….between Ranger and I, and I was sure he was curious about it at times. They had each threatened the other with bodily harm at one point or another, mostly Joe warning Ranger not to move in on 'his' territory, but never to their faces. My plan was to keep it that way.

Just then, the door bell rang, and I almost jumped.

"That would be our dinner." Joe explained as he walked to the door.

Oh, so he had planned ahead and had called for delivery. I wasn't going to embarrass myself with my lack of cooking skills. I took a deep breath and willed myself to calm down.

Joe returned to the kitchen with a pizza box and a brown paper bag.

"What time is Ranger coming?" I asked.

Joe checked his watch "If he's on time, in about ten minutes." We both knew Ranger was always on time. He was ex-military and being late was not something he could do. By 'ex' I mean he is not in the military anymore, but you wouldn't know that by looking at him or watching his demeanor.

Joe put the food in the stove and set it to warm.

"I'll go get ready." I said on my way out of the kitchen. My jeans and t-shirt were going to stay, but I had to boost my self-confidence with an extra layer or two of mascara, that was for sure. I went upstairs, were the three bedrooms and full bathroom are, took another calming breath and gave myself a little pep talk.

I heard the doorbell while I was still upstairs and my stomach contracted.

I needed more mascara and eyeliner!

Five minutes later, I forced my legs downstairs again, a polite smile plastered on my lips.

Ranger was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, his back to me. I couldn't see Joe, so I assumed he was in the kitchen, getting dinner served.

Ranger filled up just about the entire doorframe: He was 5'11" and all muscle. His black hair was shoulder length and tied in a ponytail. In his black cargo pants and skin-tight black t-shirt, he looked like he was late for a photo shoot for the cover of a magazine. It didn't help that I knew what his muscles felt like. Years ago, we had spent a passionate night together, and whenever I saw him, it was all I could think about. But he had told me on more than one occasion that he did not want to be in a committed relationship, with anyone, and had sent me back to Joe.

I debated clearing my throat to make my presence known, but it turned out there was no need. As soon as I reached the foot of the stairs, Ranger turned around and our eyes met. The ghost of a smile played around his lips as his almost black eyes regarded me calmly. He knew exactly how nervous I was, I thought, and he was enjoying it.

"Cupcake, you want a beer?" Joe was yelling from the kitchen. God love him, the perfect distraction! "Sure!"

Ranger already had a beer and I motioned for him to sit at the dining table as Joe brought out plates and silverware and handed me an opened beer. I hurried into the kitchen to bring out the pizza.

After a few slices of pizza, I excused myself from the table when the conversation shifted to work. Joe raised his eyebrows, usually my curiosity wasn't satisfied until I knew all about his cases, and they frequently overlapped with mine. As a bounty hunter, I was chasing criminals that for one reason or another, did not want to appear in court. Sometimes Joe and I were working on the same cases.

But tonight, I couldn't help looking from Joe to Ranger and back again, and I was squirming in my seat, so I said I had some phone calls to make and rushed upstairs, into the extra bedroom- turned office.

I berated myself for being such a coward, it was not like I was going to faint in the presence of both Joe and Ranger. But I felt the tension could be cut with a knife when all three of us were in the same room. It was impossible to know what Ranger thought, because he had a patented blank face, but I had caught Joe cutting his eyes to me several times, a questioning look in them.

So I decided to catch up on work, I did need to make some phone calls. I had planned to work on my cases the next morning, but what the hell.

I work for my cousin Vinnie, who owns a Bail Bonds office. Whenever he bails someone out and they don't show up for their court date, Vinnie asks me to find them. Well, if he thinks I can handle them, that is. I have worked as a fugitive apprehension agent, the fancy name for bounty hunter, for several years now, with varying degrees of success. I'm sure Ranger's success rate is 100 per cent, but we aren't exactly batting in the same league. For one, he has a whole team of badass guys behind them, working for his company, RangeMan. I work alone or with my friend Lula, a hooker-turned-bounty hunter.

Whenever I did catch a skip though, my reward was ten per cent of the bond, which could amount to quite a lot of money.

Right now I didn't have any cases that would pay out much though, a couple first time offenders with low-ish bonds, a drunken wife-beater that would be more hassle than payoff, and a 'ho from Stark Street, the notorious 'bad' part of Trenton.

Joe was a homicide cop, and I figured he had enlisted Ranger's help because Ranger moved in the right circles. Not that I knew what those circles were because after years, I still knew very little about Ranger, but he had connections that could make a cop drool. I was very curious what kind of information Joe needed from Ranger, especially since Joe had never gone the extra mile to talk over dinner at his house, but I had to wait until Ranger left.

I passed the time with calling my skips' home and work numbers I'd gotten off their files to get a place to start looking for them. First-time offenders can often be picked up in their houses, they didn't usually think anyone would come after them if they 'forgot' their court date.

I'd been on a few takedowns with Ranger and his men, and his didn't look anything like mine. He had a plan, he was armed, he had backup and he conducted himself with professionalism. Me, I had the skip's address as a starting point, my gun either at home in the cookie jar or unloaded in my purse, and often found myself rolling in garbage trying to hunt down or apprehend a fleeing offender. The glorious life of a bounty hunter? Puuhlease!

I still didn't want any other job though, because I could set my own hours and didn't have to wear pantyhose to work and sit in a stuffy office.

I called my first victim, Carol Sercek. She had been caught shoplifting an MP3 player she couldn't afford to buy her son for his birthday. This would not get her jail time, as far as I knew, and she didn't have any history of crime. I figured she either honestly forgot her court date or couldn't make it because she had no time off. She picked up her home phone and I gave her some spiel about lower mortgage rates, so she hung up. It was my preferred method of 'establishing contact' because I didn't have to reveal my identity or intention, and people usually didn't pay attention to phone solicitors' voices. Since I was well known in Trenton, there was always a chance people recognized my voice if I feigned a wrong number.

I made a note on Carol's file and put it on a separate pile. My to-do pile for the next day.

Christoph Child wasn't home, but his answering machine told me his cell phone number. It was too late to assume he was still working, so I made a note to check his house out first, too.

He had been charged with leaving the site of an accident, not quite hit and run, but close to it. A woman had been hurt in said accident, and witnesses had Child's license plate to share with the police.

I didn't want to call the wife-beater, and since his occupation was listed as 'unemployed', it looked like I had to pay a number of home visits. Except for Lynn-Anne Baker, who lived and worked on Stark Street. I figured I could enlist Lula's help with her, so I put her on top of my pile.

I could still hear Joe's voice from downstairs when I was done, and I didn't want to seem rude, so I grabbed my files and went back down. I put the folders in my big black leather bag, got another beer out of the fridge, and joined Joe and Ranger in the living room.

Joe put an arm around my shoulders when I said down next to him and continued talking.

Since I had missed most of the conversation and didn't want to ask stupid questions, I kept quiet when I didn't know what he was talking about.

"…and we haven't gotten more than the Taylor lead so far, which seems like a dead end." He finished.

"That's where I come in." Ranger said. Joe nodded.

Ranger finished his beer and got up.

"Don't change your game plan. I will see what's the what tomorrow and call you."

He nodded almost imperceptivity at me and Joe. Joe got up as well and showed Ranger to the door. I let out a whoosh of air while nobody could hear me and turned on the TV.

Joe returned to the living room and sat down next to me.

"That went well." He said as he put his arm back around me and pulled me closer.

"Ranger will help you?"

"He will help just by being there. He may know to ask people we haven't thought of yet."

"Are you paying him or is this a favor?" I just had to ask.

Joe smiled "Cupcake, Ranger doesn't do favors. Nothing he does is free."

I happened to know otherwise, but it wasn't something I wanted Joe to know. We had been on a break during my one night with Ranger, and had strictly adhered to the don't-ask-don't-tell policy afterwards. Ranger never charged me for favors, if he would, I'd be indebted to him for the rest of my life.

Joe was determined to move on to the fun part of the evening, he nuzzled my ear and stroked my arm. I was still too wired to reciprocate, but I didn't want Joe to know.

"Oh look, the Yankees are losing." I tried to get Joe's attention away from me. "Mm-hmm." He said into my neck. That felt nice…okay, maybe I was ready to be distracted after all.

I woke up the next morning when Bob was giving me cold kisses from Morelli's side of the bed. I heard the shower running and turned around to see the alarm clock. It was close to eight. I groaned. If I fell back asleep, I'd sleep until noon, I knew this from experience, so I threw back the comforter, got up, and put on sweats and a t-shirt I found on the floor.

While Joe was still in the shower, I crept downstairs, got coffee started, and opened the back door for Bob. He rushed out to take care of business.

Joe and I had coffee together, then he set off to work after a hug and a long kiss that made me want to drag him back into bed.

I sighed as I watched him leave. "Just you and me, Bob." I said, but Bob didn't seem to mind. He'd had his tinkle, had inhaled his breakfast, and was now settling in for his morning nap. Rex was also asleep in his soup can, so I just dropped a few raisins and cheerios into his food bowl and went upstairs.

I showered, did the hair and make-up thing, and got dressed in a long-sleeved blue t-shirt and jeans. My work uniform. I picked up my purse and made sure I had handcuffs, pepper spray and my stun gun in addition to the files of the skips, then yelled a goodbye to Bob and Rex and locked the door behind me.

It was warm out for October; I was glad I hadn't bothered with a jacket, as I unlocked my Mini and got in.

Vinnie's office was not too far from Morelli's house, and I was lucky enough to find street parking almost right in front of it.

Connie was behind her desk when I entered. Connie has been with Vinnie since before anyone can remember. She's a couple years older than I am and a couple pounds heavier, and she's been a good friend since I started working for Vinnie.

She looked up and smiled at me, her eyes heavily mascaraed and her black hair teased up almost to the ceiling.

"You look like you've had a good night!" she said by way of greeting, and I figured she was referring to the goofy grin on my face that I always wore after a good night with Joe.

"Is Lula in yet?" I asked rather than answering her.

"Not yet." Connie replied. "It's only nine. She should be in shortly."

I nodded and put my purse on the couch that filled the entire left side of the office.

"I'll go get us breakfast." I announced as I fished my wallet out of the purse and set of for the bakery. We all liked donuts in the morning, they got our creative juices flowing.

A half hour and three donuts later, I had filled Lula in on Lynn-Ann Baker and had volunteered her as a helper. Lula would do anything to get out of filing, so it didn't take much to persuade her. She was wearing her usual uniform of spandex today. Lula was a plus-sized black woman who wore regular-sized clothing exclusively. Her hair, lips and fingernails were orange today, and her spandex top and mini-skirt were black. She looked ready to trick-or-treat, but I thought she looked good. Only Lula could pull off an outfit like that and look good.

"Do you know Lynn-Ann?" I asked Lula between bites.

Lula thought for a beat "Don't think so, let me see her picture. She could be using a street name."

Like Ranger. His real name was Ricardo Carlos Manoso, second generation Cuban, but I had never called him anything but Ranger.

Lula shook her head while she studies Lynn-Ann's file. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell. Of course I've been out of the loop for a while…" As a 'ho, Lula's 'office' had been on Stark Street.

I balled up the trash and grabbed my purse.

"Well, time to get acquainted!" I said cheerily and Lula took her cue.

We'd taken my car to Stark Street and I already regretted the decision. Not only had Lula bitched about having to fit herself into the car, I was afraid to let it out of my sight in this bad neighborhood.

If you didn't know Trenton, you'd know Stark Street from the graffiti on the walls and the trash on the streets. Several houses were boarded up, and the ones that weren't looked like they wouldn't be far behind.

"This is her home address." I said as I pulled up to the curb. "Do you think she's home at this hour?"

Lula shrugged "Unless she does sleepovers, she should be. Ain't nobody coming to Stark Street that is willing to pay for sleepovers usually, so…"

I locked the car and set the alarm, although I feared it would be futile gesture here. My cars had a history of disappearing and getting destroyed at an alarming rate, but I really liked the Mini.

I looked up at the three-story row house that Lynn-Ann had listed as her home address. It must have once been a one-family house that had been converted into several apartments. This early in the morning, no one was sitting on the stoop.

"Let's go find out." I said as much to Lula as to myself.

Lynn-Ann lived on the second floor and didn't answer the door when I knocked.

"Guess she not home." Lula commented after I had tried several more times. "We gonna break in?"

I didn't really see the reason for breaking into Lynn-Ann's place, but since we were there already, it seemed like an idea.

I was about to lift my foot to try to break the door down when I remembered to try the doorknob. You never know…

Sure enough, Lynn-Ann's front door was unlocked.

"Uh-oh." Lula said and looked at me. We were both thinking the same thing. No one on Stark Street leaves their door unlocked. While they are still alive, that is.

I took a deep breath and pushed the door open all the way. We stood in the hallway looking into the dark apartment for a minute, just in case someone was home and was about to storm out at us. No one did.

I gestured for Lula to enter, but she shook her head. "I wouldn't want to hog your takedown."

So I took a deep breath and made my way into the small apartment. It was a studio, with a kitchenette in an alcove, a door that I assumed led to the bathroom and a curtained-off area that I suspected housed the bedroom.

The living-dining room area was empty.

I motioned for Lula to follow me and walked over to the curtain with a funny feeling in my stomach.

I gingerly drew the curtain apart and looked at Lynn-Ann Baker, butt naked, on her bed. Dead as a doorknob, if her wide, unseeing eyes were any indication.

Lula came up behind me and shrieked. I took a few steps back and collapsed onto the couch, put my head between my knees and waited for the stars to fade and clanging in my head to stop.

"Shiiiit!" Lula said and plopped herself down next to me.

That was a fair assessment.

I had seen dead people before, both embalmed and murdered, but I'd never get used to it. From my nano-second of looking at Lynn-Ann, I hadn't been able to see any bullet holes, but I wasn't going to go back and find out what she died of.

That was Joe's job. Calling him would have the added advantage of getting a hug and a kiss to make it all better, so I dug up my cell phone and called his number.

Tbc

What do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

The second chapter, I hope you like it. I'd be happy to read your thoughts and reviews about it.

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 2

I didn't get a hug or a kiss. I got a blank stare when Morelli arrived, and amused looks from the uniforms that followed him. The looks didn't surprise me, I knew a lot of Trenton cops and sometimes they passed their time by betting on how long it would take me to find trouble. Joe's reaction did surprise me. When he'd left this morning, everything was fine between us, so I was stumped. Maybe his morning had gotten off to a bad start and he wasn't mad at me, just in general.

Lula had taken off when the cops had arrived. Cops make her nervous, a leftover anxiety from her life on the wrong side of the law. I was hoping she was waiting for me in the car. Sometimes, she took my car to put as much distance between her and the police as possible, and I wasn't looking forward to being stranded on Stark Street. I was the wrong color and gender to wander this part of town alone.

Since the cops were doing their thing in Lynn-Ann's apartment, I waited on the second floor landing to either be questioned or excused.

After a half hour, I got bored. The coroner had arrived and a stretcher had been brought in. I figured everybody knew how to get in touch with me, since they all knew my boyfriend, and there was no harm in me taking off. Just as I had made that decision, the apartment's front door opened and Morelli came out.

"Where're you going?" He asked, his tone less than friendly.

"Do you need me here?" I asked innocently.

He ran his hand through his hair and exhaled audibly. Like I was testing his patience or something.

"Yeah, I need you here. I need to find out what happened and how you found yourself in the middle of it."

I contemplated asking him where Joe was and what he had done to him. The Morelli in front of me was all cop, and if a neighbor would see us together, he would never guess I even knew Joe.

One look at Joe's eyes made me bite back any comment though. He didn't look like he was in a joking mood.

"Joe, I didn't kill her!"

He scoffed. "I know that. But in about an hour, I was going to bring her in for questioning on multiple murders!"

My turn to be surprised. "She was FTA, Vinnie gave me her case. You must have known!"

"I didn't check her file." He admitted. "Her name came up a couple of times when we interviewed murder witnesses, I just had her name and address. And it's just a little too bizarre that I find you with her dead body just as I am about to grill her."

I didn't get the connection. My showing up at Lynn-Ann's apartment was just a coincidence, I could have just as well put her on the bottom of my pile and visited her last. Why did Joe try to see more than there was?

"Did anybody see you enter?" He asked now, his arms crossed over his chest.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. It was too early for Stark Street to be awake. But the neighbors probably heard me knocking."

Joe rolled his eyes and I was quickly losing my patience. I didn't want to make a scene in front of his colleagues but he was getting on my nerves with this attitude.

So that's exactly what I told him.

He sighed exasperated, and his eyes didn't get any softer. There were fine lines around them, indicating how stressed he was.

"Look, Steph, I don't have time for this right now. I will get your official statement later."

And with that, he turned and walked back into Lynn Ann's apartment. I stared after him, huffing. Next time I stumbled across a dead body, I may not be so fast to call him, I decided as I stormed down the stairs.

I caught my foot on the second to last step and took flight. I would have landed in a painful heap at the bottom, if Ranger hadn't chosen that very moment to climb the stairs.

He caught me easily and straightened me up.

"Babe." He just said, an almost-smile in place.

He held on to me until he was sure I was stable on my feet, and I thanked him. Ranger put a finger under my chin and forced my eyes up to meet his.

"Everything all right?" He asked, and I thought I saw concern in his eyes.

I waved at the second floor "Other than a dead hooker upstairs and my asshole boyfriend, yeah."

I hadn't meant to share that part about my boyfriend, not with Ranger. He got way too much satisfaction out of it. He may not want a relationship with me, but he had this rivalry thing going on with Morelli nonetheless.

Sure enough, he smiled fully now "Want me to take care of it?"  
I didn't know what exactly he meant but shook my head anyway. "I'm okay."

And only then did it occur to me that Ranger's presence couldn't be all that coincidentally.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. His hand now rested on my shoulder. I knew I should have taken a step back, but willpower was never my strongpoint when around Ranger.

"I thought Morelli'd filled you in."

When I shook my head again, he inclined his head in the direction of the second floor. "This is part of the investigation Morelli wants my help with."

Joe and I had gotten distracted before I'd had a chance to ask him.

"I'm gonna go and check what's going on." He said softly. Then he bent down and kissed me, just like that. At the very least I should have resisted, probably I should have kicked and screamed, but I relaxed into Ranger's arms and melted into the kiss. He is a terrific kisser, and I am a very bad girlfriend.

I did feel guilty as I took a minute to regain my composure and Ranger disappeared upstairs. I didn't want Lula questioning me, she'd probably seen Ranger.

Except Lula wasn't outside. My car still was, thank goodness, locked and un-spraypainted, but Lula was nowhere in sight. She wasn't much for walking, so I doubted she had taken off on foot.

I stood on the sidewalk and looked in both directions. Stark Street had woken up. Traffic was heavier and the bars had opened their doors. But no Lula.

Since I couldn't see her anywhere on the street, I didn't see any sense in calling her name, and I certainly wasn't going to go door to door. Snooping in Stark Street bars was not my favorite pastime.

I pulled out my cell phone and called her instead. I got her voice mail and left her a polite message. Then I called Connie at the office to find out if Lula had somehow made it there. Connie said she hadn't seen Lula since she'd left with me.

I didn't have Lula's home phone number, but her apartment wasn't far from Stark, so I decided to give that a try.

The front door of Lula's building was locked and no one answered when I rang the doorbell. After the third ring, an elderly lady stuck out her head of a second story window and told me Lula wasn't home. I thanked her for the information and she told me to take a hike.

I was all out of ideas. Where did Lula go when she wasn't home, with me, or in the office? The mall came to mind, but I doubted Lula would have taken a cab there. I had sent Connie to check on Lula's car, her Firebird had still been parked a few doors down from the office. I felt bad that I didn't have any more places to check for Lula. After so many years of working with her, how much of her life did I really know? Unlike Ranger, Lula was bound to tell you anything about her you wanted to know, I'd just never asked.

It seemed ridiculous to file a missing person report after she had only been gone an hour, but I did need help. Morelli was out; he was on my shit list for now. I'm sure there was a good excuse for his behavior, but he hadn't made an effort to share it with me.

I was going to talk options with Connie, I decided. There was a chance there were still some donuts left from earlier.

Vinnie was at the courthouse bailing somebody out, so it was just Connie in the office when I arrived.

Connie was just as clueless about Lula's whereabouts as I was, and we both felt bad about that. I told Connie about Lynn-Ann, and Connie made a note in her file. If an FTA was dead and found, it was as good as bringing them back to the court house to reschedule. They are accounted for, so to say.

We thought about Lula over donuts and coffee and we could only come up with one person to help us: Ranger. I suggested Tank as well, since Lula had become quite friendly with him, but I couldn't decide whether I wanted to get him worried so early on. Of course there was a chance Lula had called him to 'rescue' her from Stark Street, so he did make a logical start for my search.

I convinced Connie that it would sound less fishy if she called and gave him the RangeMan number. She rolled her eyes at my excuse for my cowardice, but dialed. I was a good fibber, but Tank made me nervous.

Connie was obviously unaffected by Tank, as she innocently asked to be connected to him. I would have believed her, she put a smile in her voice and made sure she knew how Tank was doing before she asked if Lula was with him. I already knew the answer. If Tank was at RangeMan, he wasn't with Lula. Connie told Tank how Lula had taken the morning off to run some errands and now Connie couldn't find a particular file. Boy, she was good.

Connie shook her head when she hung up the phone "Hasn't seen her since the weekend."

That left Ranger. I would have called him right away, except I didn't know how long he'd be with Joe. Although I had every reason to call, I really didn't want Joe to witness it.

I finally decided on his pager, I left the office number as a callback, so Connie could answer it.

After I put the phone down, I checked on Lula's car once again. No change, the Firebird was still in the same spot.

"She could be shopping, you know." Connie said "What if she called a girlfriend to pick her up and they're having some fun?"

I liked that idea, but it didn't sound like Lula. Not the shopping part, but the just taking off part. I could see her calling a friend for a ride, but she would have asked to be brought back to the office. I started to get an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I didn't want to call it fear yet, since there were a number of places Lula could be, but I was concerned. And one look at Connie told me she was thinking along those lines, too. She was chewing her lower lip and destroying a perfect layer of red lipstick.

When the office phone rang, we both jumped, then giggled about our silliness.

Connie picked it up and asked the caller where he was and if he was alone. I would have loved to see the look on Ranger's face. There wasn't anyone else Connie would have asked that question.

She waited for the answer, then handed me the receiver.

"Yo." I said. It was usually how Ranger answered the phone, and it did get small chuckle out of him.

I asked him if he had seen Lula when he'd exited Lynn-Ann's building earlier.

"Didn't know I was looking for her."

"Well, did you see her when you entered?"  
"No."

So Lula hadn't waited for me by the car, but Ranger hadn't arrived until I'd left, a while after Lula had trotted downstairs.

"She's sort of missing." I explained.

"Missing how?" Ranger asked.

I told him about not finding Lula by my car, in her apartment or in the office.

"And she's not with Tank either." I added after a pause. I imagined Ranger was smiling at that.

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"I thought you could help me look for her. It's a little easier for you to…blend in at certain places."

I was sure Ranger knew what I'd meant. Blending in was not what Ranger did at all, but he was impressive enough in stature and attitude that people wouldn't bother him.

He agreed to meet me at the office when he was done, although he didn't divulge what it was he had to finish up. I figured it was part of the work he did for Morelli.

He told me to give him about an hour and disconnected.

I figured I could wait for him at the office, or I could start working on my open cases, since Connie would hold down the fort either way. She promised she'd call me as soon as she'd hear from Lula and I took off. Waiting was never my favorite thing to do.

I got lucky, both of my first-time offenders were at home, looked embarrass when I'd pointed out they had missed their court date and had let me escort them back into the system. I called Vinnie to make sure he'd stay at the court house, so both Carol and Christoph were probably on their way home when I made it back to the office, parking my Mini right behind Ranger's black Porsche just as he was locking it.

Everything about Ranger is black. He usually wears black clothes, his cars and those of RangeMan were always black, new and shiny, and mostly I was in the dark about his past.

Ranger waited for me on the sidewalk. I waved the two body receipts at him that I had gotten in return for delivering my FTA's, or failures to appear, back into the system.

"I thought I'd keep busy while I waited for you." I smiled at him.

"I could think of a few other things to keep you busy, Babe."

I didn't know if it was my imagination or if he had really said it in a sexy voice, but I got warm all the same. Still smiling, I rushed past him and into the office. The kiss from earlier was too fresh in my mind, and the day was confusing enough.

"So, what do you think?" I asked Ranger when I'd told him the whole story again.

Ranger was leaning against Connie's desk, his arms crossed over his chest. The pose made his biceps muscles bulge and I was trying really hard not to stare and drool. Connie kept busying herself with filing, I knew she had the hots for Ranger as well.

"Well?" I prodded when Ranger didn't answer.

"Don't sound like Lula." He finally said. Well, duh. I kinda had that figured out myself, but I didn't want to point that out in case Ranger was just thinking out loud.

"So you're going to help me?"

Ranger nodded.

"I'll make a couple phone calls to find out where we'll start looking. Wanna ride shotgun?"

Connie fanned herself with a file. I knew her mind was going to x-rated places at Ranger's suggestion.

I picked up my purse and followed Ranger out to his car, glad that he was taking the initiative.

I was trying to keep the bad feeling down, but it threatened to grow from concern to fear and panic. Lula was one of my best friends, and she had never just taken off without telling one of us where she went. On top of that, a lot of people knew Lula in and around Stark Street, but I didn't know how many of them held a grudge against her from back in the day.

I knew with Ranger by my side, I had the best odds of finding her unharmed.

We canvassed the streets first, me with my eyes glued to the sidewalk. Lula would be easy to recognize, her orange hair would stand out.

It was almost noon and folks without a 9 to 5 job (or one at all) were out and about, either watching the traffic from stoops or entering or leaving bars and crack houses.

"You got a picture of Lula?" Ranger asked into my thoughts. I shook my head and felt bad again. What kind of friend didn't have a picture of her girlfriends?? With a picture in hand, we could ask everybody we saw.

Okay, the flagellation had to wait, it was time to think.

"What are we doing here?" I asked after an hour of cruising, throwing up my hands "This is useless. Lula wouldn't just wander the streets!"

Ranger cut his eyes to me and pulled over.

"You got a better idea?"

Yes. No. But this wasn't helping either.

"I'm going to go home. I need time to think. Then I'm going to ask Joe to alert the blue-and-whites, just in case."

Ranger raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

He drove us back to Vinnie's and parked. He put a hand on my arm.

"This isn't your fault, you know?"

I nodded. I didn't think it was. "I know. But I need to find her."

"I think it's time Tank knew." Ranger said and I looked up at him.

"You sure?"

I knew Tank and Lula had been seeing each other for a while now, and I knew Lula got dreamy eyes whenever she mentioned his name. I just didn't know how serious they were.

Ranger nodded "He needs to know and he's going to help us find her."

I liked how Ranger was in charge. I leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, but he turned his head at the last second and I ended up pecking his mouth. I had to smile at the effort.

"Thanks for your help." I said as I got out of the car.

Thinking about my next move, I walked over to my car. I almost bumped into Joe. He was leaning against my car, and from his expression, it was obvious he had seen me arrive. Damn!

-


	3. Chapter 3

And here's the third chapter, I hope you're still with me. Thank you sooo much for your kind reviews and feedback!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 3

How much had Joe seen? Had he watched me get out of Ranger's car or had he seen me kiss Ranger before that? I couldn't remember if the windows in Ranger's car were tinted or not.

Best to go the innocent route, I decided.

"Hi Joe." I smiled as I closed in for a kiss. The thing about Joe is, his mood doesn't matter when it comes to sex and all things related to it. He's never refused a kiss from me. That sometimes makes it easy to end a fight, I have to admit. Unless I am too mad for sex, since I can't just turn anger off like him.

Joe put his arms around me and kissed me right back. When we pulled apart, he looked a little more like the Joe I loved and less like Joe the cop.

"Is this a social call? Come to take me out for lunch?" I jumped right in.

He smiled. "Yes and no. It's a social call because I realized I was a jerk earlier, but I don't have time for lunch."

Did I hear that right? Joe was apologizing? Where was my calendar, I had to mark the date!

I snuggled into him. It had worked once again. Greet Joe with a kiss and he forgets he just saw me cuddling with another man! Of course there was a chance he had been too preoccupied to even register I had come out of Ranger's car, but I couldn't really ask him.

"Yeah, you were pretty jerk-y earlier. Wanna talk about it?"

"I do, Cupcake. But not right now. I just came by to make sure we were okay." He said and hugged me tighter. He could be so sweet. How could you stay mad at him?

"Is it the case?" I tried.

He nodded, his chin was on my head.

"And tonight, I'll tell you all about it over a beer, I promise."

Joe took a step back so he could see my face, and he smiled. He lowered his head and kissed me with those wonderful Joe-lips and when our tongues met, tiny sparks rushed through me straight down to my toes.

Joe held me after the kiss, so I didn't lose balance.

"I gotta go." He said softly, his mouth close to my ear.

"Uhm…just one thing." I remembered just in time "Lula is missing."

Joe looked at me confused "What do you mean, missing?"

What was so hard to understand about that phrase? Ranger had reacted the same way. Lula. Is. Missing. What ways of missing were there?

I told him the story from the beginning. I was hoping the more I recited it, the more ideas I would get about where else to look for Lula, but that didn't happen. Joe listened without interruption.

"I'll let dispatch know. The boys pretty much all know her, so they'll keep an eye out. Don't worry. She probably just forgot to tell you where she was going."

Joe pulled me close again to emphasize his words. I so wanted to believe him.

He had to leave shortly after that, but I was looking forward to having some time with him later. I really wanted to find out what had him so stressed out.

Bob was excited to see me in the middle of the day, and he made it clear that I had to make up for missing his walk in the morning. So I clipped on his leash and took him out. I loved walking him, it's carrying the plastic bags of poop that I hated. That's why I preferred walking him at night were we could be the mystery poopers. But I felt bad for having him only run in the backyard in the morning, so I made up for it with a long walk.

I realized too late that I'd left my cell phone at home, so when Bob and I got back, there were three messages. Connie, Ranger and Tank. Tank??

Connie wanted to know if I'd heard from Lula and also told me she hadn't. Ranger told me he'd pick me up at four, he hadn't found Lula but some more places to look for her. Tank just asked to call him back. I didn't know what I'd say to Tank, but it seemed rude not to return his call.

"Tank here." He said as he picked up the phone.

"Hi Tank, it's Stephanie." I was pretty sure my number showed up on his caller ID, but what else is there to say?  
"Yeah, uhm, Steph, thanks for calling me back. Ranger, uhm, told me about Lula and I…uhm…"

Who was this person I was talking to? I'd never heard Tank stutter before. He never talked much, but what he said was always straight to the point. Tank lost for words was new.

"Have you seen her?" Since Connie had asked him the same question before I knew the answer.

"No. That's why I called. Have you heard from her?"

I told him I hadn't. He said he'd ask around and I was trying to name the emotion in his voice. He sounded concerned, but there seemed to be more. I was happy he cared for Lula, she more than deserved it. Even if I had to find out under grim circumstances, it was still nice. I told Tank I had everybody looking for Lula and would let him know as soon as I heard anything. I doubted I'd hear before Tank though.

If Ranger was going to pick me up at four, there was a chance I wasn't going to be back until late. I had to let Joe know. That meant I probably wouldn't get a chance to get his side of the story. But right now, Lula was more important; Joe and I had already made sure we were okay. I called him and left a message on his cell phone, warning him I might not be home until much later, I'd be out looking for Lula.

Since I had some time left before Ranger would show up, I went upstairs into our bedroom and assumed my thinking position. My thinking position was flat on my back on the bed, which had the added advantage that I could nap if I got tired.

Today I couldn't sleep though, I was replaying the morning over and over like a bad movie. Lula had been by my side until the cops had arrived, that was the last time I'd seen her. And when Ranger arrived about an hour later, she'd been gone. Ranger wouldn't have missed her, he had one of those 'always be aware of your surroundings'- things going on that I would never understand.

So Lula goes downstairs, finds my car locked, then what? I found it hard to believe she would have been kidnapped. She would have been bitchin' and hollerin' so loudly, the entire street would have heard her.

But if Lula had called someone to pick her up, she would have surfaced by now, even if she'd decided to go shopping.

I was still trying to come up with possibilities when my cell phone rang. I was proud of myself, I had remembered to take it into the bedroom with me. It was Connie. It took me a minute to decipher what she was saying, she was talking so fast.

"Connie, slow down. What happened??"

"Okay. Sorry." She took a deep breath "I just got a call from Lula. She said she was fine, and not to look for her. And then she asked if I could take care of Fluffy."

"Who's Fluffy?"  
"Exactly. More to the point, Lula would never say any of that. Why would she call to say nothing more than she was okay? The whole thing just sounded fishy. Like something is wrong."

I had to agree. Lula would never ask us not to look for her.

"Call Ranger and tell him." On second thought…"Never mind, I'll tell Ranger. Did you get the number from your caller ID?"

"No, the number was blocked."

That's what I had expected.

"Okay, when you leave tonight, make sure you forward the office number to my cell phone. I'll let you know as soon as I see or hear anything!" I didn't want to miss another call.

Connie agreed. I assured her there was nothing else we could do and we disconnected. Her words repeated in my mind though. 'Take care of Fluffy'? Was that Lula's attempt to tell us something was wrong, since none of us knew what Fluffy could be? I knew Lula didn't have any pets, and try as I might, Tank could never be referred to as Fluffy. Odd.

Originally, I was going to wait for Ranger to pick me up, but I couldn't wait any longer and called him at three to share the news. The message didn't make sense to him either, but I got a laugh out of him when I asked if he thought Tank was 'Fluffy'.

I didn't know how to fell about the fact that I'd been right. Something was definitely wrong; Lula had not just taken off. But that meant that she was not wherever she was now voluntarily, and I was praying she was all right.

I quickly changed according to Ranger's instructions "Wear something sexy, babe" he'd said. "You'll fit in better. We're going into the underbelly." Whatever that meant. But I knew Ranger's definition of sexy, so I put on a red tube top, a black leather mini skirt and my 4" black fuck-me-pumps. I teased my hair up to within an inch of its life and added red lipstick and black eyeliner to my usual mascara. One look in the mirror confirmed that I made a great Jersey slut.

I had just hugged and fed Bob and thrown some grapes into Rex's aquarium when I heard Ranger park outside.

I knew my mother would have a fit if she heard how I was leaving the house, barely dressed and with another man, and my neighbors were sure to report any such sightings. So I threw on a long brown wool coat and rushed to the door, getting into Ranger's Porsche before he could get out.

He cut his eyes to me.

"Babe, when I said sexy, I meant…" I unbuttoned the coat and slipped out of it "…never mind." He finished and concentrated on driving. I had to bite my cheek to keep the laughter in, I'd so had him!

"Where are we going?" I asked instead of laughing.

"6th Street." Ranger said. Getting information from Ranger was always hard. He'd always answer the question, but he had a tendency to only give the smallest details. Like, if I'd been asked the question, I might have said 'We're going to this great new restaurant on 6th Street that my sister has told me about.' But not Ranger. Mental head slap. I should know by now to phrase my questions accordingly. Tonight, I didn't feel like playing the game of 20 questions, so I just sat back and stared out the window.

Of course that made Ranger look at me, no doubt because he'd expected more questions from me.

"Why don't we get something to eat and I fill you in?" He suggested. Any idea involving food had my vote.

Ten minutes later, we parked in front of Pino's. Pino's is the best place in Trenton for pizza, everybody knows this. It's also a favorite hangout for cops, since it's close to the Trenton PD.

Since it was too early for the dinner crowd, the big dining room was almost empty when we entered, and only two people were holding the bar up.

Ranger ordered a pizza and a pitcher of beer without asking. He didn't have to, he knew what I liked. Not just as far as food was concerned.

When our pizza was on the table and our glasses were filled, Ranger gave me the background story.

"This is what I know, and Morelli filled in a few blanks last night. In a nutshell, hookers are being killed at an alarming rate."

I hadn't heard anything about that. Maybe I should have read the paper more often.

"But Lula isn't…"

Ranger put up his hand in the universal 'stop' signal. "Lynn-Ann this morning was the latest. There have been ten murdered hookers in the past month."

He took a sip from his beer and finished his piece of pizza. I almost choked on the bite I was trying to swallow.

"It took the cops a while to connect the murders, although the m.o. was the same. I guess they didn't look too thoroughly because all murders happened on the wrong side of the tracks and the victims were whores."

I thought I'd detected disgust in his voice. Ranger'd never shared his opinion about cops in general or the Trenton PD with me, but I was guessing he was now.

Joe hadn't mentioned the investigation to me, and I was wondering why. He usually shared his day-to-day happenings with me. I'd put that on the list of things to ask him.

"So now you think Lula might be the next victim?" I asked when Ranger didn't continue.

He raised an eyebrow "No. There is no reason to think that. The killer, or killers, only ever killed active working girls. Not retired ones."

"Unless…"

Ranger's eyes met mine "Unless what, Babe? You know something?"

"No, I don't, but…what if Lula did? Or what if she saw something? Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, not a target all along?"

He shook his head almost imperceptivity "You're just jumping to conclusions now. You'll drive yourself crazy if you make up too many of these 'what if's'!"

He was right. I had no evidence of anything, I was just thinking out loud.

"I was just giving you the background of how this morning's events fit into the big picture. Lula may or may not have anything to do with that."

But it was a start!

"Is that why I'm dressed up 'sexy'?" I asked.

Ranger nodded. "It may not hurt if you look like you'd ask to be paid for your services." He winked at me.

"I take it that would make you my pimp?" I was appalled at how much I liked that idea, when I should have been disgusted at the mere suggestion. I was hopeless.

Ranger nodded. He explained that Tank would be our 'eyes and ears'. He'd asked Ranger to be a part of the search, and Ranger admitted he hadn't known how much Tank cared about Lula either.

Ranger wanted to follow up on what he'd found out through his work with the police, reasoning that it was as good a place to start as any. I agreed, since I was anxious to be doing SOMETHING.

I took a third slice of pizza and listened to the plan. Ranger had eaten a slice and a half. His willpower was a lot stronger than mine. Stress made me hungry.

Ranger paid the check and got up. He waited for me to stand as well and gave me a critical once-over. He nodded, smiling "It'll do."

I didn't know if I was flattered because he liked what he saw or insulted that he thought I could pass for a professional. And I realized I'd forgotten to pack a change of clothes, I'd have to walk into the house dressed this way with Joe waiting. Joe would never fall for the coat-routine. Something fun to look forward to.

Pino's was filling up when we left. I got a lot of looks and did another mental head slap. Joe's phone would be ringing within minutes with reports of my outfit, I was sure. I'd only thought of the good pizza, not the consequences of being seen. Eh, it was no use to worry about it right there and then, I'd think of what to say later.

I was sure Ranger'd seen the looks too, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He was probably cracking up inside. If Ranger ever did such a thing.

We drove over to Sixth Street in silence. Ranger was in his 'zone', where he totally concentrated on driving, I supposed. Since he didn't talk he could be planning the invasion of a communist country. I didn't have a zone, unless I was devouring a pack of Tastykakes, but then I only concentrated on the orgasmic joy of sugar and trans fats.

We pulled up behind a black SUV parked in a side street.

"Time to prep." Ranger said as he got out.

Tank was waiting for us in the SUV. He passed me some photos and files. Preliminary suspects of the investigation. No prints had been found at the crime scenes, or sometimes too many, so the list contained more or less the 'usual suspects'; pimps with a violent history.

Marcus Vega, the guy in the first picture I looked at, made my skin crawl. He was a light-skinned Latino with long black hair and a mean look in his dark eyes. His rap sheet included several arrests for assault with deadly weapons, rape and battery, but no convictions.

It wasn't surprising. Probably the witnesses, if any, had been hookers, and lawyers had a way of discrediting them on the stand.

The second guy was Frank Torlione, recently relocated from New York. He looked very Italian and just as mean as Vega.

Tank shared what he'd been able to find out about the two, among other things that they frequented the same night spots. They weren't friends, but they weren't rivals either.

Our plan was to focus on those two.

"So what's my part?" I asked. It seemed that Ranger and Tank had planned the whole evening.

Ranger averted his eyes when I looked at him, which was unusual. I raised my eyebrows at Tank.

Tank cleared his throat. "Well, Ranger is your employer…"

"And?"

"And the idea is for you to be pretty unhappy with him. We were hoping one of these guys may…offer you a job to work for them."

"So you want me to start a fight with Ranger and storm off?" Why were they acting all embarrassed-like?

"In essence, yes." Tank said.

"What he's trying to say is that I'll have to roughhouse you a bit to make it look credible." Ranger explained.

Oh, okay, I was beginning to get it. Ranger was to be my pimp and slap me around some when I was seemingly disobedient.

"When you say roughhouse…you're going to hit me??" My eyes widened. It was going to be hard to explain my outfit to Joe, I didn't think I could keep him from going after Ranger if I came home with a shiner. "I don't think that's going to work…"

Ranger chuckled at my expression "Babe."

Tank grinned "We'll go through the motions beforehand. It'll only look like it hurts."

"Oh…like on TV?" That made more sense. But for a minute I'd thought Ranger was going to beat me up. I smiled "OK then, I'm in!"

Tank drove us away from 6th across town to a small gym. We all piled out and Ranger explained the "Dumbbell" was a gym some RangeMen used if they needed a change from the office gym. It was closer to 6th Street than his office.

There were few people working out at the machines, although the after-work crowd should be in filling the place up. Probably it wasn't that popular a place.

Ranger led us through the main room into a smaller windowless room on the left. There were mats on the floor and fluorescent lights on the ceiling, other than that, it was bare.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a crash course in ducking." Ranger said and took off his t-shirt. That made it hard for me to focus on what he was saying, but I tried to follow as well as I could. And I got the gist. We agreed on a number of key words that would tell me what his next move would be. If he said 'bitch', he'd shove me, for example. Ranger and I went through a couple of the motions until he was satisfied it would look realistic. I had my doubts about that, but kept that to myself. I wanted to ask how far the charade was to continue in case one of the pimps bought the show. He didn't expect me to play the role for more than one night, I hoped. But I decided to burn that bridge when I got to it, no need to worry about that now.

Tank walked me over to the bar area after we were done and bought me a smoothie. It was a little too healthy for my taste, but I appreciated the gesture. Ranger went off to the changing room to shower and change into his 'pimp gear'.

I wanted to ask Tank about Lula, but I didn't quite know how to start. As many times as I had seen him, I found it hard to strike up a conversation.

Before I could think of a topic, my cell phone rang.

It was a forwarded call from the office, my hands were shaking slightly when I answered it.

"Plum bail bonding, this is Stephanie." I said, not knowing if that was even close to what Connie would say.

"Hey Connie, can I talk to Vinnie?" Lula said. I was sure she had heard me, so I decided to play along. Tank was watching me intently.

I waited a beat "This is Vinnie." I said then.

Some muffled sounds from the other end, but I couldn't hear voices.

"Vinnie, I'm just calling to let you know I'm quitting." I didn't reply "Yeah, I know, Hon, I love you, too. But it's just not working for me anymore, I've moved on, you know?"

Okay, either Lula was drunk or she had a plan. I was betting on the latter, but I'd felt better if I had been in on it.

"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, me too. Listen, I gotta go. No hard feelings." And she disconnected.

Tank looked at me expectantly, but I didn't know what to tell him.

"Well?" He finally said.

"It was Lula." I said.

"What did she say???" His voice was slightly louder than usual, the only sign that he was getting impatient.

"She told Vinnie she loved him and quit."

Tank's face probably mirrored my expression perfectly. I had no clue what'd just happened and I'd been the one on the phone.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

What do you think, more action, more romance or more suspense? Let me know, all reviews and comments are welcome.

Thank you so much for your feedback, you guys are the best!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 4

Ranger stepped out of the locker room in charcoal slacks, a grey silk shirt and a black tie. He wore a black leather blazer to hide his weapons, I supposed. The blazer would have looked sleazy on the likes of Vega. On Ranger, it looked hot. Then again, I couldn't think of too many clothes that wouldn't make Ranger look hot. Burlap sacks maybe.

I had to freshen up my makeup if I wanted to keep up.

"Lula called." I told him "Tank will fill you in, I'll be right back." I said and headed to the ladies' room. I put on a fresh layer of berry-red lipstick and made sure none of my eyeliner had started running.

Ranger was waiting for me right outside the door, and I almost bumped into him.

"Now you fill me in." He said, his arms crossed over his chest "Tank didn't make all that much sense."

I shrugged. "The phone call didn't make sense!"

I told him the entire conversation, he didn't say anything when I was done.

"So what do you think?"

"Odd." Ranger just said.

So much for the omniscient Ranger, he couldn't make sense out of it either.

We joined Tank at the juice bar and dissected the conversation again. We all agreed Lula was trying to tell us something, that she'd known she'd talked to me and not Vinnie and that she had been acting out orders. That was all. We didn't know what she was trying to tell us, why she had pretended she was talking to Vinnie or who had given her the orders. But at least we were certain Lula wasn't out shopping or shooting the breeze with a girlfriend. That was progress, right?

It was almost eight and time to get into action. Tank left first, to drive over to the designated starting point, the "Maison Verte" on Sixth Street. It was a new establishment that already had a reputation. The cops weren't able to zone in on it yet, and so far, word was that you could get whatever you needed at the Maison. Booze, drugs, and sex; all for a price.

It was still early for nightlife, but already some cars were parked in the club's parking lot. Probably people came in for the bar more than the dance floor.

Ranger's car fit right in, we parked between a late-model Mercedes and a Corvette.

I was surprised Ranger walked around the Porsche to open the door for me. He winked "I treat all my ladies nicely, as long as they behave."

I just nodded because his wink had just about taken my breath away. He led me towards the entrance by putting his hand on the small of my back.

I felt naked as we entered the club and some heads turned in my direction, the men all but undressing me with their eyes. I'd been right, the clientele looked like they'd just left their offices a short time ago, this was their time to relax before going home to their families or lonely lives.

There was a large bar that ran the entire length of the room on the left, a small dance floor towards the back, booths lining the right wall, and tall cocktail tables in the middle. Everything was black and chrome, colored lights danced over the furniture to give it a splash of color. The club looked very rich and definitely like the kind of bar I'd never set a foot in unless I was on a mission.

The women in the place were dressed very similar to me, either they were working girls or they were undercover, like me. Of course there was a chance they were just regular Jersey girls, but I didn't think so. We don't frequent posh places like the Maison, we have a beer in the corner bar.

Ranger walked us over to the bar and ordered drinks for us. He helped me up to a stool by cupping my ass. I had to remind myself I was there to play a role, so I stifled a gasp and said a short prayer that no one I knew was in the club. My mother would have a heart attack on the spot if she heard.

Ranger was wearing an earpiece and a tiny microphone was attached to the collar of his shirt. Tank was outside in the parking lot, outfitted similarly.

Ranger leaned over to me and whispered close to my ear "We're on. Vega just pulled into the parking lot."

I felt left out and wished I'd gotten an earpiece, too. Ranger and Tank could have a whole conversation for all I knew.

I downed my cosmopolitan for courage. Ranger smiled and nodded towards his right "Might want to appear to be working, Babe."

Ugh. Work, right. I was a hooker, here to make nice with the accountant or the banker, promise them a good time. I knew I looked the part, but it was different to act the part, too.

"I'll need another drink." I said, and Ranger ordered. He was still nursing his first beer.

I took my cocktail and slid off the stool. Ranger slapped my ass. "Have fun!"

It took some effort to not grimace, but I managed and sauntered around Ranger to my first 'victim'. I'd have to look 'busy' when Vega arrived.

All I knew about whoring I learned from movies like Pretty Woman; I was hoping it was enough.

"Hi." I said to the man closest to Ranger. He was in his 40's, about six feet tall, with ash blonde short hair and grey eyes. His tie was loosened around his neck and his white shirt was rumpled from a day's wear. He didn't look like he had to pay for sex, probably he could talk every other woman into his bed after a few drinks. But what did I know, he didn't exactly shoo me away.

"Hi Sweetheart!" He said and smiled. I wanted to gag.

He extended his hand and took mine "I'm Clark."

I plastered my best fake smile on my face and squeezed his sweaty hand "Nice to meet you, Clark. I'm Cindy." That sounded like a good name. I certainly didn't want Clark to know my true identity. I was pretty sure I'd never seen him before, but there was a chance he'd heard of me or had read about me in the papers.

My exploding cars and inventive capturing styles had made the Trenton Times on a few occasions. Usually the articles were accompanied by very unflattering pictures of me though, looking nothing like I did tonight.

"You come here often, Clark?" I asked softly, hoping I'd sounded seductive.

He invited me to take the seat next to him and put his hand on my forearm while telling me exactly how often he frequented the Maison, as opposed to other places in town, whenever he was in Trenton. He was from Newark himself.

I sighed mentally, he wasn't local! Chances were good he hadn't heard of Stephanie Plum, the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. I took a sip from my drink.

"So Clark, you're looking for a date?" I asked through lowered lashes. Clark looked a little surprised and I wondered if I'd gone too far. Then I felt a familiar tickle on the back of my neck and I knew Ranger was behind me.

"How's about you get to work rather than talking?" He said in a harsh tone.

Clark's eyes widened but he didn't flee, yet.

I remembered what we'd gone through in the gym.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to work here. If you wouldn't interrupt, we'd be just fine." I said without taking my eyes off Clark. I rolled my eyes at him to share how annoying I thought the interruption was.

I could almost feel Ranger's eyes narrow behind me "I don't think I like your tone, bitch." And, true to the key word, he gave me a push. I pretended to slam into the bar and grimaced.

Clark sucked in some air and grabbed his drink.

"I don't want to interrupt anything…"  
"Stay!" Ranger said, cutting his eyes to Clark "This will only take a minute."

He turned me around by my shoulder and leaned in, seemingly to talk some sense into me and whispered "What's your name?"

Right, the one thing we hadn't discussed. I mouthed 'Cindy' and he nodded.

He took my elbow and said "Move."

My cue to look as if I was in pain. I winced, although Ranger barely touched me. He pulled me off the stool towards Clark.

"She's all yours. Cindy here is one of the best. $100 an hour, and she's more than worth it."

Clark sucked in more air and looked surprised "I don't think…I wasn't…excuse me." And he took off.

Pimp Ranger decided to blame me for the fleeing john.

"You see?" He exclaimed, and if I hadn't been prepared I would have flinched at his harsh tone. "If you hadn't wasted time small talking, you'd have a customer!"

He raised his hand as if to slap me and I flinched as rehearsed.

"Don't make me hurt you!" He said, loud enough to be overheard by the bartender.

The bartender looked from Ranger to me, but didn't say anything. He finished polishing a glass and moved away from us to greet a new party.

"We're in luck." Ranger said softer, his expression still angry, his hand around my elbow "Vega decided to start at the bar."

I tried to watch the new arrivals from the corner of my eye and bent to the side Ranger was holding.

"You're hurting me!" I pressed out through clenched teeth and tried to grimace in pain.

"It's gonna hurt a lot more if you don't shake your ass!" He warned. I was trying really hard to keep playing my role, but the truth was, Ranger's act was scaring me. I knew he was just playing his part, but it seemed so real. I couldn't wait for our stint to be over.

"Oh yeah?" I said, trying to pull my arm out of Ranger's grip "Maybe I don't feel like shaking it for you anymore! What you gonna do then, huh?"

Ranger closed in again as if to threaten me "You're doing great. We have his attention. Keep going." His eyes were narrow slits now. I figured this was what angry Ranger looked like, and I hoped I would never see the real thing.

I jerked my arm out of his grip and shoved him back. Unrehearsed, it wouldn't have affected him at all, but following our plan, Ranger stumbled back. His peripheral vision was a lot better than mine, because he timed his reaction perfectly. He lifted his hand in what looked to become a real bad blow, but a guy in a black suit stepped between us at that exact moment, facing Ranger. He grabbed Ranger's arm and Ranger glared at him.

"You wouldn't want to bruise the merchandise, would you?" He asked in a silky-smooth voice. It was Marcus Vega.

Marcus the pimp was a few inches taller than Ranger, but I had no doubt Ranger could take him if he wanted to. Taking Vega out was not the plan though, unfortunately. I would have been quite happy to end the night on just that note. Marcus was wearing a black suit that looked custom-tailored. His black hair was in a ponytail, held together by a leather band. I could smell the cologne he must have bathed in before leaving his house. Not only was it too much, it was also taking my breath away, and not in a good way. I tried to mouth-breathe.

Ranger glared angrily at Vega but didn't move. Probably because he didn't want Vega's posse to rush in.

Vega half-turned to me, still holding on to Ranger's arm. His smile didn't reach his eyes as he let his eyes wander over my body. I felt like throwing up.

"Go powder your nose, Honey, we got some business to discuss here."

He let go off Ranger and shoved me off the stool. I gasped and almost tripped and fell, but I caught myself just in time. My shoulder burned from his rough touch. Since I didn't want to give him a reason to do it again, I rushed towards the back of the club, where I supposed the restrooms were.

I locked myself in a stall and tried to calm my breathing. I knew everything was going exactly as planned, but it scared the shit out of me. I wasn't a trained ex-Army mercenary, like most of RangeMan's employees. Violence scared me. In the last few years, I had gotten into my share of fights and scuffles, but Vega was way out of my league. I didn't even want to be in the same room with him. I was used to dealing with first-time offenders and wife-beaters, not pimps or men that had elevated being mean to an art form.

And one look into his eyes had convinced me he could easily be the serial killer.

When I joined the men at the bar, I had somewhat regained my composure. Ranger and Vega were sitting next to each other, talking.

Vega got up when he saw me, nodded at Ranger and left without acknowledging my presence. Probably I was the piece of merchandise they'd been discussing, not a person, in his eyes.

Ranger looked at me and winked. He left his seat, fake-grabbed my elbow again and shoved me towards the exit.

He didn't speak until we were speeding out of the parking lot.

"We got what we came here for. It went well."

I let out a whoosh of air and collapsed into the leather seat. "If you say so. Vega scared the shit out of me."

"I know just what you need." Ranger said on a smile. He drove a few blocks, made a few turns, and then pulled into the drive-thru lane of a McDonald's. He ordered a burger, fries and a large milkshake for me and a water for himself. When we'd gotten our food, he parked in the lot.

Like I said, I eat when I'm stressed. Preferably fast food. The fries and shake were exactly what I needed.

Ranger waited until I was halfway done before he shared what he and Vega had talked about.

"Turns out Marcus has an opening in his company."

I looked up from my food. I didn't think it was funny, so I grimaced.

Ranger was smiling and out his hands up in an 'I-give-up' gesture. "Sorry. I meant to say, he's interested in you, would like you to work for him, that is. We even agreed on a price."

"Oh? What am I worth to you?"

Ranger's smile disappeared "Babe." He said, his hand reaching out to stroke my face.

"I meant, how much were you asking for me?"

"I know what you meant."

And just like that, I felt uncomfortable sitting so close to Ranger. There was undeniable tension between us, and it had nothing to do with the job we'd just finished.

"Can we talk about this tomorrow? Just take me home for now."

Ranger pulled his hand back and sighed, but didn't say anything.

As much as I wanted to find out what he and Vega had agreed upon, it would have to wait until the next day.

Ranger parked behind Morelli's truck in front of our house and turned off the engine.

With a look at the lit front windows he asked if I wanted him to come in to explain.

I shook my head no "I don't think your presence is going to make this any easier…"

"Probably not." Ranger smiled and reached over to open the door for me.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Pick you up at ten?"

I nodded and got out of the car, taking a deep breath to prepare me for the coming confrontation.

When Ranger got angry, he got quiet. Joe was Italian and when he got angry, he got loud. I really didn't look forward to a fight after the day I'd had.

Bob rushed at me as soon as I opened the front door. He buried his head in my crotch and I realized I'd left my coat in Ranger's car.

Joe was sitting on the couch in the living room, a beer in hand, watching TV.

He looked up as I entered, his unreadable cop face in place.

"Hi Hon!" I said cheerfully.

His eyes traveled from my face down to my toes.

"Something you want to tell me?" He said calmly.

I hoped it wasn't the calm before the storm, that he was really giving me a chance to explain.

"Lemme get a beer first. You want another?" I was already on my way to the kitchen. Probably I should have rushed upstairs to change, but that would have been too obvious.

I returned to the living room and took a long sip of my beer as I sat down next to Joe.

"Ranger told me about the case you're working on…" I started.

I put up my hand when Joe opened his mouth "He said Lynn-Ann was the tenth hooker to be killed in Trenton within a month."

Joe nodded. "You look like you were looking to be number eleven." He gestured at my skirt that had exposed most of my upper thigh when I'd sat down.

"Lula is missing." I said, trying to pull the skirt down a little "Ranger and I were out trying to find some clues."

Okay, that had sounded lame even to my own ears. I had nothing to hide, why couldn't I just tell him? I took a deep breath and told him the story from the start.

"Have you heard about this new place, 'La Maison Verte'? I had to fit in. Anyway, Ranger and I were playing a role…"

Halfway through, his expression softened and I sighed mentally. Stressed out as he was, Joe was reasonable Joe tonight.

"Did you find out anything about Lula?" He asked when I was finished. I shook my head no.

"I wish you'd told me, Cupcake." He said "I was worried sick about you. You can't just tell me that your friend disappeared and that you'll be working late and then not call!"

He pulled my head close for a kiss. I did a happy dance in my head. This had gone over so much better than I had expected.

"I'm sorry." I admitted "I didn't know I was going to be so late."

Joe played with my hair "I missed you."

"You saw me at lunchtime!"

"You know what I mean…" and he lifted me onto his lap, caressing my shoulder. If I hadn't known what he meant, I was learning now. He was showing me exactly how much he'd missed me.

After a long kiss and the loss of my clothes, he carried me up the stairs and threw me onto the bed.

"So you're not mad I went out with Ranger?" I smiled up at him.

"No." He smiled back "I'm mad at Ranger for going out with you." He stripped off his clothes and joined me in bed. He started nuzzling my neck and I leaned back, enjoying the moment.

Joe looked up "I trust you, Stephanie."

I don't think I would have handled the situation as well if the sides had been reversed. If Joe'd come home after a night out with Teri Gilman, his date all through high school, I would have been livid, work-related or not. I realized Joe had grown more understanding of my job and I'd missed it. In the past, Joe had often harassed me about putting my life in danger and hunting down criminals, demanding me to quit.

And now he trusted me with Ranger? It made me feel bad that, while I could be trusted in general, all bets were off when I was with Ranger.

I didn't have time to think about it though, Joe's mouth traveled from my neck down to my breast and all coherent thought vanished from my mind.

I really wanted to talk about the case and get all gettable information from Joe, but he seemed to have other priorities at the moment. And when he did his magic on my nipples, I decided the information-swap could wait and relaxed under his touch.

He smiled into my belly and I had the feeling I'd been had.

Food was my stress reliever, sex was Joe's. I'd already had my food…

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Weee, chapter number 5. I don't know how soon I'll be able to update, I have a busy week ahead of me. I hope you like the story so far. All comments and questions are welcome!

Thank you so much for your feedback, you guys are the best!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 5

I woke up the next morning, my legs entwined with Joe's, my head on his chest. He was still sleeping and I watched him. There were no fine lines around his eyes now that he was relaxed, but the stubble on his chin and cheeks gave him a rugged look. His hair was tousled.

I could hear Bob snore. As usual, he was lying on the floor at Joe's side of the bed. Hopefully, he'd sleep a little longer. Once he woke up, he'd want breakfast and would wake Joe to get it.

Sun rays were shining through the open curtains and the alarm clock told me it was 7:30, and it was unusual for me to wake up that early. Since it was Saturday, Joe hadn't set the alarm. I hoped that meant he didn't have to work. Since he was a detective in the homicide department he didn't have a regular Monday through Friday, or even 9 to 5, job, but he tried to keep his weekends free. I wasn't always so lucky. If I was on a deadline, I had to work seven days a week. If someone jumped bail, the court only gave Vinnie a week or sometimes two to get the skip back into the system before the money was forfeited. That meant us bounty hunters sometimes were on a tight schedule.

But I tried to keep my weekends free whenever possible so Joe and I could spend some quality time together. I already knew today was not going to be such a day, since Ranger was going to pick me up in about two hours.

I decided to make the best of the time we had and slid my hand down Joe's chest. He stirred, but didn't wake up. Joe's body was ready for sex at practically all hours of the day, but his favorite time for it was in the morning. He sometimes set the alarm a little early to have time for it. In the past, he would have just been late for work, but Joe had grown more responsible over the years.

I knew his absolute favorite was for me to wake him up 'that' way, so I massaged my way down his chest to his belly, where I took my time admiring his prefect six pack. Brad Pitt in "Thelma and Louise" had nothing on Morelli!

He groaned when I slipped my hand between his legs and his arm tightened around me. I knew he was slowly waking up, savoring the moment. Since he had taken all the time in the world last night to satisfy me, I figured it was only fair to make this his turn.

I pushed myself up on my elbow and let my mouth follow the same path my hand had taken earlier. Joe's hand slid up my torso and into my hair, but his eyes were still closed, a smile playing around his lips.

I'd known him practically all my life, and intimately for years now, but I doubted sex with him would ever get old.

He pulled my head up from between his legs, then placed his hands expertly under my butt and placed me on top of him, grinning up at me.

"Morning."

I leaned down and let my hair fall over his face as I kissed him. That was all the foreplay we both needed.

Afterwards, I took a shower while Joe went downstairs to make coffee and let Bob out.

He was dressed in sweats when I came into the kitchen, and he looked good enough to eat.

"Continue looking at me like that and you'll have to take another shower, Cupcake." He said, smiling.

I poured myself some coffee and joined him at the table.

"I wish I had the time. But I have to work today." I said. Better to break it to him now.

"Ranger'll pick me up at ten to continue the search."

"You're not gonna go undercover again, are you?" He looked at me over the rim of his mug.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. I'm going like this." I looked down at my grey t-shirt and jeans. That seemed to relax Joe somewhat.

"Please tell me if you're going to pull another stunt like last night. I'd like to be there for backup."

The old Joe would have had a fit and forbidden me to ever go undercover again. I liked the new Joe better by the minute.

"I will. Last night wasn't planned." I got up to toast an English muffin.

"Did you ever hear anything about Lula?"  
Joe shook his head "I have everyone looking though. If she shows up, I'll know."

He put down his coffee "I'll run a check on hospitals and mortuaries, just to cover all the bases." He said slowly.

I swallowed audibly. It was normal procedure, but I didn't want Lula to show up in any of those places. I held on to the countertop for support.

Joe got up and pulled me into his arms.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sure I won't find her there." He said softly while stroking my hair.

Joe went upstairs after breakfast to take a shower. I rinsed our cups and put them in the dishwasher, then I tidied up the kitchen. Since we didn't usually cook in it, it wasn't much work.

Bob had had his breakfast and was standing in the kitchen doorway, wagging his tail. I dropped a few raisins in Rex's cage, but that wasn't exciting enough to wake him.

"How's about we all go for a walk?" I asked Bob, and his tail picked up the pace. "Okay, we'll just wait for Daddy to be all clean." My hands flew up to cover my mouth. Oh my god! I had called Joe Daddy. This was bad news; I was on my way to be domesticated! I was glad Joe hadn't heard me and Bob decided to ignore the news.

I distracted myself by straightening up the living room, cleaning away empty beer bottles and such.

Joe came downstairs a little while later, clean-shaven and dressed in a flannel shirt over a black t-shirt and jeans. He liked my suggestion of a walk and we clipped Bob's leash on and left the house.

It looked like Trenton was getting ready for Indian summer, it was already in the 60's outside, so we didn't bother with jackets. Joe put his arm around me and we walked the neighborhood.

"So…you wanna tell me about this case?" I asked after a few blocks. I had to get up to speed if I wanted to help. If Lula was at all part of this, helping the case could mean helping her. I hadn't heard from her since the mysterious phone call.

Joe kicked a pebble into the street, probably thinking of the right words.

"Cilinski is the lead detective on the case I'm second…" We crossed the street to a little park and Joe let Bob off his leash. He picked up a stick and threw it, Bob rushed away to retrieve it.

"When the murders started, no one connected the dots. Just dead hookers on Stark Street, you know?" He seemed just as disgusted as Ranger.

Then Cilinski made the connection and brought me on board. We got a hot tip and followed up on it. Lynn-Ann's name was mentioned and I contacted her. She said she'd talk to me, but wouldn't come to the station."

Bob had found the stick but was too busy playing with it to bring it back. He was fun to watch, clearly enjoying the outdoors.

Joe and I stood, watching 'our' dog. Joe was absently playing with my shirt collar.

"And then Lynn-Ann wakes up dead." I completed the picture.

"Yeah," Joe nodded slowly "And then Lula goes missing."

Bob returned and was hopping around us, trying to get our attention. I looked at Joe, trying to read his thoughts.

"Do you think Lula's disappearance ties into this?"

Joe shrugged "It could. I don't want you to worry too early. It could be completely unrelated." He didn't sound like he believed that though. Like he was just trying to calm my nerves.

"Do you have any suspects?" Ranger had already told me about that part, but I wanted to hear it from the source.

Joe shook his head "Not really. We're looking at pimps for the obvious reasons. Some of the women worked independently, so there's a chance they were killed to send a warning."

"And the pimps of the other girls?"  
Joe scoffed "All of them look like they wouldn't lose sleep over killing a hooker. But it doesn't make financial sense to them. We're surveying a few of them though."

He picked up another stick and threw it for Bob.

"Is Marcus Vega under surveillance, too?" I asked.

Joe turned to face me, a little surprised "Not yet. How do you know Vega?"

I wanted to say I didn't know him at all, just the name, but I didn't want to lie to Joe. On the other hand, I didn't want him to know I knew Vega better than I wanted to. I almost rubbed my shoulder at the memory of his touch. "He was one of the guys Ranger singled out first. We were sort of trying to find him last night…" That was all true. Not the entire truth, maybe, but not a lie.

Joe shook his head "Stay away from Vega. He's bad news. Ranger can handle him, but you don't want to get involved, Steph." I didn't, but I was already. There was a chance he wanted to hire me to walk the streets for him. There was no way I could share this with Joe, he'd freak. Probably rightfully so, but I didn't want to destroy the only lead I had.

"How long have you been working on this case?" I asked to lead the discussion away from a need to lie.

"For the past week. I tried to tell you about it, but there was never a good time. I didn't mean to keep it from you." He pulled me into a hug and kissed my hair.

I leaned into him for strength. I didn't want Lula involved in this. I wanted the killer to be found before he could murder anyone else, but I didn't want Lula to have anything to do with him.

Joe's pager beeped and he pulled away from me to read the display.

He did some creative cursing and whistled for Bob.

"Trouble?"

"Don't know yet. But I left my cell phone at home."

We didn't exactly rush back, but we didn't crawl either. Whatever it was, it required Joe's attention and it probably meant he had to work.

Joe didn't look happy when he hung up the phone. I patted Bob's side and told him what a good boy he was. He was now ready for his morning nap.

"Now do you know if it's trouble?" I asked Joe.

He ran a hand through his hair and didn't meet my eyes "Another victim was found this morning. I have to go meet Cilinski at the scene…"

I sucked in air "You think it's Lula?" my voice was shrill.

"I don't know anything yet, I'll call you as soon as I get my first look!"

He closed the distance between us and kissed me "I promise, I'll call you right away!"

I nodded. There didn't seem to be enough oxygen in the room. When Joe'd left, I collapsed into a chair in the living room.

Ranger would be by any minute to pick me up. He'd know, I told myself. He had sources. He'd know what the victim looked like.

I rushed upstairs to put on some makeup and tame my hair, then I went downstairs, grabbed my shoulder bag and waited for Ranger on the stoop.

As soon as he pulled up, I was on my feet. He had barely come to a stop when I yanked open the passenger door of his Porsche and fell into the seat.

"Did you hear?" I asked breathlessly.

"Yes." He said and checked his rearview mirror before pulling away from the curb.

"It's not Lula, it's a white woman."

I wanted to jump for joy. My heart went out to the poor woman, but I was overjoyed it wasn't Lula. Really, there hadn't been any reason to believe it was Lula, but I'd been panicking. And Ranger must have been on the same wavelength; he'd checked and told me without asking.

My breathing evened.

"Where are we going?"

"Stark Street."

"Oh goodie."

"Vega doesn't operate around Stark, so we probably won't blow our cover if you're out. But just to be safe, we won't identify ourselves. Lula could be an ex-colleague of yours right?"

I didn't like how true those words could be. I knew he had meant that I was pretending to be a ho' and Lula used to be one, but Lula was my partner NOW. She and I went bounty huntering together. She liked to call us Cagney and Lacey, I thought we were more like Laurel and Hardy. But in any case, we were a team. I didn't want to start thinking of us as an ex-team. I tried to push the thought away.

"What did you agree upon with Vega?"

"No agreement yet. I said we'll talk today. I'll meet him tonight, without you. We'll need to talk things over, if you want to be involved."

I didn't know if I wanted to be. Joe had warned me about Vega, but it wasn't necessary. One look at the guy and I'd known I didn't want to get too close. But there was a chance he was a lead, and he could know about Lula.

Ranger reached behind him and pulled a folder from the back seat. Dropping it into my lap he said "Thought we could find out if anyone's seen her."

I opened the folder; there were several pictures of Lula in it. All looked like they'd been taken without her knowledge. One showed her getting out of her car, in one she was talking to me, all were recent. All were blown up to letter size and her face was recognizable enough to show the pictures around.

"Tank." Ranger just said, answering my unasked question. Damn ESP.

So we were going to go door to door, showing Lula's picture? I had one problem with that…

"No one's going to talk to me, I've tried it before." White, blue-eyed women were a minority on Stark Street, and people were cautious when these women started asking questions.

Ranger's eyes never left the road, but his lips twitched into a smile "They'll talk to me, babe."

I took a look at his clothes: He was wearing dark grey baggy-ish cargos and a black t-shirt. Diamond studs in his ears, enough gold chains to make bail for murder one around his neck. This was Homeboy-Ranger, I concluded.

"You got it. Word, Dog."

Now Ranger cut his eyes to me, still smiling "You know you can't say Dog and Word in the same sentence, right?"

I sighed. I've lived in Trenton my whole life and I couldn't speak the language of most of its citizens.

We rode the rest of the way in silence. Ranger parked his Porsche on the street and beeped it locked when we'd gotten out. Ranger didn't have to worry about his pricey cars to be stolen, for some reason. Probably, people knew his reputation and stayed away, the same people that knew I wouldn't do more than bitch and moan when they stole my car. Life wasn't fair.

I had my gun in my purse, but I didn't feel like schlepping it around with me so I left it in the car. Besides, I knew Ranger was packing enough for two people. I had this irrational fear of guns and used mine as little as possible.

Stark Street was just waking up. Bar doors were opening, people took their spot on the stoops of their buildings, hookers appeared at corners. When New Jersey was nicknamed the Garden State, they didn't have this part of Trenton in mind. Stark and the surrounding streets looked more like Bosnia after the war, what it was lacking in bomb craters, it made up for with bullet holes, decaying buildings and graffiti.

I looked around and noticed for the first time that we'd parked across the street from Lynn-Ann's building. Had Ranger called ahead for a parking spot or something? How did he manage those things?

Ranger pulled me off the sidewalk towards a convenience store when my cell phone rang.

"Hey Cupcake." Joe said friendly "It's not Lula."

I smiled; he hadn't forgotten. He must have gotten to the crime scene only minutes ago and had called right away.

"Thank you for letting me know. Who is it?"

"We haven't made positive ID yet. A Caucasian girl, late teens maybe. We're just securing the scene now, collecting evidence. I'll start questioning neighbors soon, then we may know more. Cilinski thinks she fits the profile, but we're not even sure she was a hooker yet."

I knew Joe would have the duty to inform her parents if they found out her identity. I didn't envy him. I never spent much time thinking about how hard his job could be. Often enough, I got myself into tricky situations and dealt with slimy or disgusting or mean people, but I never had to tell parents their daughter was dead.

"You with Ranger?" Joe asked.

"Yes…" I didn't know if he was going to tell me to be careful next.

"Let me talk to him." Right, they were working on this together to some extend. This was a first, and still new to me. I handed Ranger the phone. "It's Morelli."

Ranger took the phone and turned away from me. Probably just his normal reaction, but it irked me all the same. I didn't want to be left out of the loop.

His back was turned, but he didn't lower his voice. I'd been right, he'd turned just out of reflex.

"Yo…yes…no, at 20:00…will do…no need…okay."

Ricardo Carlos 'Ranger' Manoso, master of the two-syllable conversation. I looked at him expectantly when he gave me back the phone. "Well?"

He was smiling again "Morelli wants me to be careful while you're with me. Said I'd have to answer to him if anything happens to you."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, not in so many words, but that's what he meant. I'm also gonna exchange information with him tonight."

He opened the door to the convenience store and motioned for me to enter. The conversation was over, as far as he was concerned. Men!

I had no doubt Joe had warned Ranger to be careful, to protect me. He didn't trust Ranger, but he knew Ranger would look out for me.

"Stay behind me, let me do the talking." Ranger said. That was fine with me. "Keep your eyes open though, let me know if you pick up anything they're not saying."

"You want me to let you know when my spidey sense is tingling?"

Ranger chuckled. I was amusing him again. "Something like that." He said and walked towards the cashier.

By noon, we had shown Lula's pictures to dozens of people. Many had recognized her, few remembered seeing her the day before.

One woman had looked at the picture the longest. She'd reminded me of Jackie, Lula's friend and co-worker back in the day. This woman, Dee, was as tall and big as Lula, with a similar taste in fashion. Her hair was bleached blond and styled in a 70's afro style. She'd chewed her lower lip while studying the picture.

"I'm not real sure, but I think I saw her yesterday. It was early…think I saw her talking to Ernie."

Ernie, we, or rather Ranger, had been told, was a part-time pimp, part-time crack dealer. Not someone Lula would talk to, I thought. Dee wasn't sure where we could find Ernie, except for 'around'.

So now we knew our next step. I felt like we'd accomplished something, at least we had a next step. I'd also learned that Ranger was very good at getting information out of people. Like a chameleon, he'd changed his approach with different people. With Dee he'd been a regular charmer, smooth-talking and smiling.

"You know Ernie?" I asked him when we were back in his car.

"Not sure." He said, "I know an Ernie from this area, but I don't know if it's the Ernie. Only one way to find out though."

He started the car. I didn't have to ask what the 'one way' was, we were most likely going to pay Ranger's Ernie a visit. And after that, I was going to mention lunch. Can't go investigating around all day on an empty stomach, after all.

It turned out Ranger's Ernie didn't live far away. But in Jersey, we don't walk. If we need to go more than one block, it's perfectly acceptable to drive. Probably Ranger didn't want to tempt fate either by leaving his car unattended for too long.

Ranger made a left turn and drove two blocks before turning right and parking in front of a red brick apartment building. It was an uninspired three-story block. Some of the windows had sheets instead of curtains and its front lawn was the sidewalk. 'Architectural Digest' wouldn't come knocking any time soon.

We got out of the car and Ranger fastened his utility belt around his waist before looking up at me. "I'd tell you to wait in the car, but I think you're safer with me around these parts."

A wise decision. I wouldn't have waited in the car anyway, and not because the neighborhood scared me. I didn't want to miss a thing!

Ranger took the stairs to the second floor two at a time and I followed. I stayed two steps behind him off to his left when the knocked on the door.

I thought I heard some noises from inside the apartment when Ranger knocked a second time. He had one hand on his gun. Who was this Ernie guy?

The door opened the width of a security chain and part of a face appeared. It belonged to a thin black guy, from what I could see. Ranger gave the door a push with his boot and the chain ripped free, the door knocking the man back into the apartment.

"Hi Ernie." Ranger said, "Long time no see."

Ranger humor. I followed him into the apartment and closed the door behind us. The guy'd been knocked on his ass and was looking up at Ranger with a mix of anger and fear.

"What do you want, man? I didn't do nothing."

"This is Ernie." Ranger introduced him, "Ernie has a way of getting mixed up with the wrong people. Sort of like you." He grinned at me, then turned back to face Ernie.

"We need to talk." He simply said and picked Ernie up by a strap of his dirty white undershirt.

If I'd been Ernie, I'd have admitted to anything, even stealing my best friend's Barbie doll in second grade. Ranger would intimidate the hell out of me. Ernie was probably more used to being around tough guys, but I didn't think he'd resist too long. Ernie was about 5'10" and I guessed he weighed little over 130 lbs. He was wearing black boxers in addition to the undershirt and both looked like they were ready to fall off at any moment. His hair was short, but looked more like a grown-out bald head than recently cut. His apartment was a one-bedroom with little furniture and lots of garbage.

Ranger started nicely after depositing Ernie on the torn and dirty couch in the living room, showing him the pictures.

"Do you know her?" Ernie nodded.

"Have you seen her?"

Ernie looked up from the picture to Ranger. "What's it to you?"

I expected Ranger to smack Ernie, but he just leaned down, so that they were almost nose-to-nose. "I asked you a question!"

Ernie shrunk back "I've seen her around, yeah."

Ranger made a show of readjusting his gun belt and sighed exasperated.

Ernie's eyes darted from him to me. I shrugged as if to say 'Hey, I can't control him. Better play nice.'

"Let me be more precise." Ranger said slowly, "When was the last time you saw her?"

I so needed Ranger to teach me how to ask a question in a tone that made anyone think twice about lying. I couldn't see his eyes, but I'd bet they were stone cold.

Ernie looked back down at the picture as if trying to remember. I knew Ranger wouldn't tell him that Dee had mentioned his name, but I was wondering if he'd mention Ernie'd been seen.

"I might have sorta run into her yesterday…" Ernie said.

I resisted the urge to shake him until he told the whole story. Ranger kept calm. "Go on."

Ernie scratched his chin. I wondered if he was trying to decide who'd be more trouble, Ranger or whoever Ernie answered to.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember now. Down on Stark. She was at Lynn-Ann's house."

So Ernie knew about Lynn-Ann, too. Of course, everybody would have read about her in the paper by know, but I made a mental note to tell Joe about Ernie.

Ranger still didn't move. I was ready to jump out of my skin.

Lula had never mentioned Ernie, so either she didn't know him well or else he wasn't someone she liked to remember. I didn't know much about Lula's past.

Ernie handed the pictures back to Ranger.

"And?" Ranger asked, "His voice dangerously low now.

"And that's it, man, I swear."

Ernie was a bad liar, he could take lessons from me. His eyes were studying the floor while he was talking and he was clenching and unclenching his hands.

"Wrong answer." Ranger said and took the handcuffs off his belt.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you guys so much for your reviews, I really appreciate it.

Here now is the sixth chapter for your enjoyment. Well at least I hope you enjoy it, let me know…

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 6

If it'd been me Ranger was talking to, I'd probably be peeing my pants. His voice was more a growl now. It didn't exactly leave Ernie unaffected, but he didn't share more information either.

Ranger clicked one of the cuffs around Ernie's wrist and yanked him up by the chain. I took a step back as he pulled Ernie off the couch and dragged him through the living room, towards the bathroom. I was grateful Ranger had pulled Ernie far enough off the ground so that Ernie's boxers wouldn't be pulled off. I did not want a close-up of Ernie's privates. It looked like Ranger was taking out the garbage. Ernie was cursing and flaying his arms, trying to get a swing at Ranger, but Ranger held his arm at an angle, so that Ernie was hitting air. I had a premonition where this was going.

Once, when I had first become a bounty hunter, Joe had chained me to the shower curtain rod with my own cuffs. He'd been FTA then, and I'd been trying to bring him in. Ranger had rescued me that night, and it must have been an inspiration for him.

Sure enough, he clicked the other cuff to Ernie's shower curtain rod.

"Are you sure you don't have anything else to tell me?" Ranger asked.

Ernie didn't seem sure. He looked from his wrist to Ranger, to me. I was standing in the door frame, trying not to gag at the soap scum in the sink and the dirty toilet.

"Man, I don't know nothing." Ernie insisted.

"Suit yourself." Ranger shrugged and turned to leave. He pushed me into the hallway with him with an almost smile.

"Hey!" Ernie yelled after us, "You're not gonna leave me here, are you?"

This was like déjà vu. I'd yelled something similar after Joe when I was in Ernie's position.

"This is going to be fun." Ranger whispered as he ushered me towards the front door.

"You're leaving him here?"

"For a while. Let's see if he remembers as time goes by." Ranger looked as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

I thought Ernie'd been lucky Ranger was in a playful mood. Hanging by your wrist didn't get your nose broken, usually. Ernie was hollering at us to come back, but we left his apartment and closed the door.

Ranger's pager beeped on our way downstairs, but he just glanced at the display and silenced it, not sharing who the caller was. I was used to it.

I called Connie when we got back to the car to find out if she'd heard from Lula. She hadn't and neither had Vinnie, she said. I told her about Lula's call the night before and Connie agreed with the general consensus that it didn't make sense. She hadn't come up with any possible translation for 'Fluffy' either yet. I could tell she was just about as worried as I was. Like me, Connie didn't always show her emotions, we were not the hugging and kissing type, but the thought of Lula in trouble got to us. I promised her to let her know if I'd hear anything and disconnected. I didn't tell her about the latest victim, since there was no proof of a connection to Lula.

"Let's go eat now." I said when Ranger started the car. I didn't know what his next move was going to be, but I wanted to make sure he knew my plans.

"Babe." He just said. Ranger could customize that one word into so many meanings, it was astonishing. Right now, I believed in meant 'okay'.

He put the Porsche in gear and took a left onto Stark, away from the bad parts, towards central Trenton. I sighed in relief. It didn't have to be the Burg for lunch, but it had to be as far away as possible from the war zone of Stark Street.

My cell phone vibrated when we were just about to park in front of Pino's. It was my mother. I didn't really feel like talking to her, but the familiar guilt came over me and I answered.

"Stephanie Plum," She said "Would it kill you to check in with your mother every once in a while? Are you and Joe coming to dinner tonight?"

I sighed "I don't know yet, Mom. Joe may have to work late tonight." And I'm out with Ranger investigating Lula's disappearance, with no idea how long it'll take. "I'll let you know, okay? I was busy these past few days. Is everything all right?"

I knew it was, since I'd have heard if there were any new crises in the Plum family. My grandmother, who lived with my parents, or my sister, who lived half a mile away from my parents with her three kids and fiancé, would have told me. My phone would have been ringing off the hook.

"Of course everything is all right. I just need to know how many people to cook for, is all."

I promised her I'd let her know and then disconnected, thankfully before my left eye started to twitch. It was my usual reaction to a conversation with my mom.

Ranger wisely didn't say anything as we got out of the car. We'd been to Pino's the day before, but I could eat there every day of the week. I wondered if Ranger would 'pollute' his body two days in a row or if he'd opt for a healthier choice than pizza.

On Saturdays, Pino's was filled with families who were giving their kitchens a day off. In a few hours, it would be filled with cops celebrating the end of their shift with a beer. It was pretty full and loud, but we managed to get a table that allowed Ranger to scan the room. My best friend, Mary-Lou, called what Ranger needed the 'gunslinger seat'. 'You know' she'd said, 'Always able to see the entire room and the door, in case the enemy shows'. It made me smile now as I watched Ranger take inventory. Ranger raised an eyebrow, but I just shook my head, I didn't want to share what my best friend thought about him.

"So, what do you feel like?" I asked instead, the menu in front of me.

"What I would like is not on the menu, babe."

I looked up to find his eyes on me and I quickly returned my attention to the menu, not quite able to hide my blushing face behind it.

Ranger could turn any statement into a double entendre.

When the waitress took our orders, Ranger opted for a chef salad and water, I ordered Fettuccini Alfredo and a beer. I reasoned I needed a lot of strength if I wanted to keep up with Ranger.

He shook his head at my choice, and I knew he was thinking of saying 'That stuff will kill you.', but I shrugged and excused myself to use the ladies' room. For Ranger, food was just nutrition. He'd never fully grasp the importance of it.

Our drinks had been served when I returned to the table. Ranger looked at my beer while he took a sip from his water, but didn't say anything. I raised my glass and he rolled his eyes. I almost choked on my first sip, I had to laugh so hard. With Ranger, one could have an entire conversation without saying a word.

"How long are you going to let Ernie hang?" I asked.

Ranger moved his shoulders a fraction of an inch, the equivalent of a shrug. "Gotta be at least a couple hours. Show him we're serious."

"What are we gonna do until then?"

"Same thing we did this morning. One lead may not get us anywhere; more people may have seen her."

I'd hoped he would suggest checking all local malls. That idea would have had my full support. While there, I could have checked out the shoe sale at Macy's.

'Focus!' I told myself, 'You're looking for Lula, not new shoes!' My sane voice sounded a lot like my mother, I realized.

Our food arrived and my mouth watered at the sight of it. The top snap of my jeans may not close after I'd be done with it, but I could always pull my t-shirt out. I had to keep my strength up, after all. After the second bite, I suddenly remembered the last time I'd eaten Fettuccini, I had been with Lula. Immediately, I tried to think of more ways to find her.

Could I ask Joe to trace the two calls? Didn't they always pull phone records on 'Law&Order'? Or maybe Joe could be persuaded to put both Ernie and Vega under surveillance? Then Ranger and I could expand our search radius without having to worry about those two anymore.

"Babe, I smell something burning. You're gonna hurt yourself thinking so hard."

I looked up at Ranger's smiling face and grimaced. "Just trying to think of more places and ways to look for Lula."

He nodded "We'll find her. A woman like Lula isn't easy to hide."

I chuckled, Ranger was right. Lula was loud, and she was big. And if things didn't go her way, she had a tendency to use both of those attributes to her advantage.

"What's Tank doing today?"

Ranger swallowed and washed down a lettuce leaf with water. I shuddered at the thought of it.

"He's running the searches. By now, he's probably called every person he's ever known." He shook his head slightly "I didn't think he'd have that in him."

I didn't know if he meant Tank's persistence conducting the search or his feelings for Lula. Since it was a touchy subject between Ranger and myself, I didn't comment. Ranger had told me his life didn't lend itself to relationships. If that was true, the same would go for Tank, Ranger's right hand at Rangeman. So who was wrong, Tank or Ranger? I knew that if I asked the question out loud, Ranger would just 'Babe' me again. Pass on that.

I debated approaching the subject from another angle but changed my mind. It would have to wait until after we'd found Lula. I was bound to get too emotional right now. And besides, I told myself, what did I care? I was with Morelli. We weren't engaged right now, but we lived together. It was living in sin, as far as Burg standards were concerned, but it was still practically married.

Ranger looked like he was waiting for me to comment, so I asked "He turn anything up yet?"

Obviously not, or else he'd called Ranger. But it was the best I could come up with by way of ending the discussion in my head.

Ranger shook his head no. "He'll call if he finds or hears anything."

I nodded "Connie will let me know if she gets another call. The office seems to be the only number Lula has memorized." That was the only reason I could come up with for Lula calling the office repeatedly instead of my cell or Ranger.

As if on cue, my cell phone vibrated. It was Joe. I'd just spoken to him a few hours ago, so I doubted he'd call with good news.

"I have news." He said.

"Hello to you, too." I said, smiling. Joe just sighed.

"We found Lula's pocketbook." I dropped my fork.

"Where? When? Anything else?"

Ranger raised an eyebrow, and I mouthed 'Joe'. If I'd been the one listening to only one end of the conversation, I'd be dancing from foot to foot whining 'What? What? Whaaat?', but Ranger wasn't the type to whine. Or dance, for that matter, I figured.

"The call came in an hour ago. Someone called 911 for a suspicious bag left unattended and Costanza just called me, he was the one to respond."

Carl Costanza was a uniformed cop with the Trenton PD and an old friend of mine, we'd gone to school together. Well, maybe not a friend, but I'd known him for a long time.

"And"? I urged Joe on.

"He found Lula's wallet and cell phone in it and thought I'd want to know. They're bringing it in for prints, but I'm not getting my hopes up."

"Where was it found?"

"The train station downtown. Left outside on a bench, probably in hopes it would get stolen and disappear. That's all I know, I thought you'd want to know."

I assured him I did, and asked him to keep me posted. Then I remembered to thank him for the call and told him I'd see him soon.

"I'll talk to you later, Cupcake. Be safe. I love you." And he disconnected before I could respond. I felt guilty I'd just been contemplating Ranger's relationship abilities minutes before Morelli told me he loved me.

I cleared my throat to banish the thought "They found Lula's purse."

"Where?" Ranger's eyebrow was still up.

I told him everything Joe'd said.

"Too generic. They could have dropped it there on their way to a train or just thrown it out a car window. Doesn't give us much." Ranger concluded. Probably he was right. But it was another clue, as far as I was concerned.

Ranger's pager beeped again just as we had finished eating. Again, he glanced at it and turned it off.

"Well?" I asked.

"Well, what?"

"Who keeps paging you?"

"A client. He's on the backburner for now. He'll know to call RangeMan if I don't call back."

So Ranger was making Lula his priority, too. I didn't think he'd take Morelli's case more serious than any of his clients; it had to be his personal involvement. Or maybe he did it as a favor to Tank, who knew?

What I did know was that Ranger was probably losing money by helping me with the search, since he more than likely couldn't bill his time to the cops either. Ranger was definitely a friend first, a fellow bounty hunter second. I would have never gotten as far as Ernie without him.

"Thank you." I said, forgetting that I hadn't shared my previous thoughts with him.

Our eyes met and he looked at me for a long moment, then he almost-shrugged "She's your friend." He said, somehow knowing exactly what I'd thanked him for.

I ordered another beer because I was trying to delay going back to Trenton's war zone.

"So we have one lead and her purse." I summarized. That just wasn't enough for me. I sighed.

"I feel there's more we should be doing!" I told Ranger.

"Like what?"

"Like…I don't know…search places. Hand out flyers, put up posters!" I was rambling and I knew it, but I was desperate. I threw up my hands in frustration. My beer arrived and I took a long pull.

Ranger just looked at me "These things take time. If she was kidnapped, there will be a ransom note soon."

"Who would kidnap Lula? That doesn't make sense!"

"But it is a possibility."

Ranger was staying way too calm through all of this. I needed someone to get hysterical with me, not stay focused. Okay, maybe I needed someone to stay focused more than anything, but it's not what I wanted. I opted for more beer and finished the glass.

The check came and we both grabbed for it, but Ranger with his catlike reflexes was faster. He winked at me and I stuck out my tongue. I was feeling very mature.

Ranger checked his watch "Okay, let's tackle the other side of the street and then check back with Ernie."

I grimaced.

"Hey, you wanted to do more!"

He was right, as usual. I just wished I could do more far, far away from Stark Street. Of course it was the logical place to snoop, since that's were Lula had disappeared. Also, we didn't have any other option.

"You never told me the details about Vega. What are you going to negotiate with him?"

Ranger shrugged "I haven't thought it through yet. I need to do some more research. And it also depends on whether you're in or not."

"You mean if Cindy is going to make an appearance?"

He nodded. I chewed my lower lip.

"I'll meet him tonight. We'll talk. Then I'm gonna decide whether it's worth it or not." Ranger said, "If we are going to send you to the streets, you'll be wearing a mike, and the RangeMen will be your johns, in addition to your tail."

That's what I'd figured, but I was trying to find a way to tell Morelli. He was not going to like any of it. He'd requested to be back-up on my next 'undercover' mission, I didn't think he'd have me as a working girl in mind.

"Would I have to meet Vega again?" The mere thought of him made my skin crawl.

"Like I said, we're going to talk it through when I know more. Would you want to revive Cindy?"

The smile was gone from his face, he was waiting for my response with an unreadable expression. Leaving it up to me.

I didn't know what I wanted, other than to find Lula. I wished I could say I'd do whatever it takes, but that may prove to be too much when it came to Vega. What if he wanted to 'sample the merchandise'? What if he wanted to whip me into shape to make sure I'd obey his orders? What would Joe say?

"I don't know." I admitted.

"Think it over. Talk to Morelli." And he got up. How did he do that mind-reading thing?

We drove back the way we came and Ranger parked in front of Lynn-Ann's house. We had covered a few blocks of the opposite site in the morning, now we would do the same on this side, I figured.

Ranger got the pictures from the back seat and looked at me "Ready?"  
I nodded and kept a sigh to myself. He was helping me, and he was doing all that was possible. It would be majorly unfair to vent my frustration at the slow progress on him.

Ranger's cell phone chirped before we approached a couple elderly men sitting on the stoop of the house next to Lynn-Ann. He checked the display and answered it.

"Yo…name?...address?...How reliable is the information?...I'll check it." And he disconnected.

"Tank." He said before I could ask him the obvious "He found a guy may have seen Lula last night."

He was going to continue walking, but I stopped him by pulling his elbow.

"What guy? Where? Seen Lula when?"

It did occur to me that Ranger may not have that information either, judging by the shortness of his phone conversation with Tank. But they were still valid questions!

"Babe." Ranger just said.

"Don't babe me!" I all but shrieked, my hands on my hips. "What did Tank say?"

Ranger chuckled and pushed a strand of hair from my face. "He said you have the cutest blue eyes when you're angry."

Had Ranger just called me cute?

I was this close to stomping my feet and whining. But I settled for a death glare. It only made Ranger grin wider. He shook his head and did a palms-up, surrendering gesture.

"It's not like it's a sure lead. Tank must have called a hundred people today. One of them said he saw Lula get in a car yesterday. We're gonna talk to those nice gentlemen over here and then we're gonna check it out."

He turned and approached the men while I was digesting the information. How was it not a lead? It sounded at least as good as Ernie.

I watched Ranger show the picture, and the men all shook their heads. I wasn't surprised. They each looked about 90 years old. Probably, you don't remember a woman standing on a sidewalk at that age.

I didn't bother to join Ranger, I walked back to the car and waited for him. He joined me a minute later and beeped the Porsche open.

"So who is this guy?" I finally asked as I took my seat.

"Tico Maldoni, small timer. Owes Tank a favor. He lives over on Comstock." Ranger said and put the car in gear.

Comstock was even worse than Stark Street. Stark was a ghetto, but Comstock was gang land. You could get killed for wearing the wrong color on Comstock. A year ago, I had accidentally gotten involved with two of Trenton's gangs and had ended up hiding in Ranger's 'bat cave', afraid for my life.

"He's not a slayer, is he?"

Ranger glanced at me sideways "I want to think Tank would have mentioned that."

That wasn't exactly a no. See, that's what you get if you have these 30-second phone conversations, I wanted to yell, but kept my mouth shut. Ranger knew why I had asked, he'd been along for my gang ride.

It turned out Tico lived on a block of Comstock that was still considered 'neutral', not a part claimed by any of the gangs. There were no sentries on the corners. Other than that, the street looked just as desolate as Stark.

Ranger parked at the curb and checked his gun belt, making sure everything was in place. I'd never seen anything on Ranger's belt not in place, but maybe that's because he checked frequently. Most of the time, I didn't even wear a gun belt. That's why Ranger was the number one bounty hunter and I was still in the vicinity of an apprentice. Not that I would admit that to him.

We stood side by side in front of the triple-decker. Its paint may have been light blue at some point, now it was sort of grey. Some windows were boarded up. A discarded baby carriage sat on the front porch, along with a few dead plants. The wood on the steps and the porch looked like it would give at any moment. Tico definitely didn't live in style.

Ranger looked at me "You got your gun?"

I waved at the car "In my purse."

He sighed and turned around, unlocked the car and held the passenger door open for me.

When he'd checked that my gun was loaded and in the waistband of my jeans, we mounted the steps carefully.

"First floor." Ranger whispered.

I thought he was being pretty careful for visiting a small timer, but what did I know? I was usually the one knocked on her ass because she wasn't careful enough.

The air inside the house was musty and smelled like dead rats. A bare light bulb hung from the ceiling but wasn't turned on. Behind some door, a baby cried.

We walked towards the rear of the building and Ranger stopped in front of a door marked 1B. He motioned for me to stand to the side and knocked.

I heard some commotion, then the door exploded into a million splinters as a shot exploded, it sounded like it'd been fired from a rocket launcher.

Someone screamed, and it took me a moment to realize it was me. My ears were ringing and my knees felt wobbly. I had a glimpse of the floor rushing at my face way to fast and then everything went black.

TBC R&R please…


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry this took so long, I was away on a business trip all week, and they always expect you to work on one of those, it's annoying.

Thank you so much for your reviews, I appreciate it so much!!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 7

When I opened my eyes, I was staring up at Joe's concerned face. He was talking, but I couldn't hear any words. I was outside, and I slowly realized I was lying on a stretcher that was on the street behind an ambulance. Cop cars were blocking off the street in both directions. Two Firetrucks were on the street and smoke was coming out of the building.

What the…OMIGOD!!! RANGER!!!

I sat up straight and everything began to spin. Joe grabbed me and a paramedic appeared from out of nowhere to hold on to me. I leaned against Joe and waited for the world to regain focus around me.

"Is Ranger okay?" I asked, but I couldn't hear my own voice.

The paramedic looked at me with a frown on his face. He mouthed "Can you hear me?" very slowly, and I shook my head.

"Ranger?" I asked again, hoping someone would read my lips in case they couldn't hear me either.

Joe gently pushed me back onto the stretcher, and I think I saw him say "It's okay."

The paramedic was writing something on a piece of paper and then held it up for me to see. 'Acute hearing loss' it said 'Temporary!'

Now I remembered the loud bang. The explosion. All right in front of Ranger.

I checked my arms and legs and noticed some scratches, otherwise I seemed to be fine. My head hurt like hell. An IV tube was stuck in my arm, probably standard procedure, and the paramedic held an oxygen mask in his hand.

Obviously I'd passed out and the bang had left me temporarily deaf. The only thing I could hear was this very loud, high-pitched ringing.

I sat up again, slowly this time, and Joe held on to me. He was talking, and I took his hand and squeezed it to tell him that I appreciated it. I was now frantically searching for a sign of Ranger. Had he been wearing a flak vest?

I craned my neck, because I didn't trust myself to stand up yet. A group of people were coming out of the building. Two uniforms and an EMT, all with stern expressions.

The paramedic next to me touched my arm and pointed his index finger at the ambulance. I shook my head no; I wasn't going to leave until I found out about Ranger.

Joe shook his head exasperated like and said something to the paramedic. He must have been asking for some kind of permission, since the paramedic nodded and Joe bent down to pick me up. I slowly got to my feet, leaning on Joe for support. Finally, I could see the building's entrance fully.

Behind the group of emergency workers, a form emerged from the darkness of the hallway and my heart jumped: It was Ranger.

He was walking! I promised God I'd go to church more often from now on for having answered my prayer.

An EMT was leading Ranger by the arm, Ranger had bandages around his forearms and was walking a little hunched over. But he was alive!! I sobbed suddenly, out of relief.

Joe put his arm around me and pulled me towards him. I leaned into him and let him hold me, literally taking my weight off my shoulders.

We'd be okay, I would hear again and Ranger was alive and somewhat well.

The little group reached us and Ranger looked up to meet my eyes. He said something and there was concern in his face. So like Ranger to care about me, while he was the one escorted out of the building by a paramedic, and I was already taken care of.

I pointed my index finger to my ear and shook my head, hoping that would signal 'I can't hear'. He said something to the EMT that was holding his arm and they came over. Ranger reached my side, and without being able to hear him, I knew he said 'Babe'.

Joe talked to him, and Ranger frowned. It touched my heart how much he seemed to be concerned only for my wellbeing, while the EMT at his side seemed to get more impatient by the second. I didn't know if he was able to hear me, but I said "I'm okay."

Since he cut his eyes to mine, I must have made some sound.

We were urged to board the ambulances, Ranger was led around the one by me to another one that was waiting for him. I let the paramedic push me back onto the stretcher, but held on to Joe's hand. I didn't want to be alone. His eyes never left mine as he climbed into the ambulance beside me.

I was probed, x-rayed and medicated, then I was wheeled into a hospital room and was signaled to wait for the doctor (or Publisher's Clearinghouse, which would have been my choice).

The IV tube was still stuck in my arm, but no monitors were hooked up to me, so I assumed I wasn't that bad off.

Joe joined me minutes later, he leaned down to kiss my forehead, then my nose, then my mouth. I smiled when he pulled away, he can be so cute.

A white-coated man arrived and shook my hand, and then he talked to Joe. He looked like a doctor, but I couldn't read his name tag. Joe kept nodding and asking questions, and he made notes. It turned out the notes were for me, when the doctor left, he showed me: 'Concussion, need to stay overnight, hearing back by tomorrow'.

I hugged him, and he snuggled in close, sharing my bed with me. I took the notebook and pen from him and wrote 'Check on Ranger?'. Joe nodded, kissed my cheek and got off the bed. He waved on his way out. I was tired and I wanted to sleep, but I needed to know Ranger's status first.

Joe did one better, he returned with Ranger.

Ranger's arms were bandaged from his hands to his biceps, and I had a moment of wondering how many rolls it had taken them to cover his muscles. He had some band aids on his face, other than that, I couldn't see any damage on him.

He frowned as his eyes caught mine, then he turned to Joe and they started talking. I was never a good lip reader, and not knowing what they were talking about irritated me.

"Hey!' I said, "I'm right here." I trusted my voice to still know what it was doing, even though I couldn't hear it. I could feel my vocal cords vibrating.

They both turned to face me, Joe was smiling apologetically.

He put his hands together and placed them next to his ear, obviously he wanted me to sleep. I couldn't read the expression on Ranger's face, but I needed him to know that I was okay.

As soon as my hearing would return, he'd have to tell me all about what the fuck'd happened.

A nurse entered the room then, and although I couldn't hear what she said, it was clear that she was asking Joe and Ranger to leave. They both seemed to be arguing the request, but she had a kind of Burg women demeanor about herself that allowed no argument. She was maybe 5'2", in her late 40's or early 50's, and she stood up to the two men in a way that made me laugh. I half expected her to pull Ranger and Joe out by their ears.

Joe kissed me lightly on the mouth, Ranger squeezed my hand, and then they left.

I read the nurse's nametag, Eleanore, and smiled at her. She made sure my bed was adjusted correctly, got my blood pressure and temperature, then she waved by way of saying good-bye.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that the terrible ringing in my ears had subsided.

The second thing was that I could hear noises, they seemed to come from far away, but they were definitely there. Thank God! I knew the doctor had promised my hearing would return, but I hadn't really believed him until now.

There was no clock in the room, but it was daytime, so I assumed I had slept through the rest of the day and the entire night. I felt rested. Even my head didn't hurt as much as it had.

It didn't take long for someone to arrive with my breakfast. Mmm, lumpy oatmeal, my favorite. Not.

Shortly afterwards, a nurse entered. Not Eleanore, this one was young and blonde, almost the stuff male fantasies are made of.

She said something, but I had to ask her to repeat it. I'd only heard her voice, couldn't make out the words. She spoke louder the second time, asking me how I felt.

"Getting there." I said and send her what I hoped was a brave smile. She nodded, took my pressure and temperature and told me the doctor would be in to determine if I could go home.

Oh yes, I was ready to go home. I'd spent less than 24 hours in the hospital and was already sick of it.

I was lucky. The doctor introduced himself as Dr. Bertram, took a look at my eyes, made me do a few things with my arms and hands and asked me a series of questions. By the end of the questions I felt like he was yelling, so my hearing was improving by the minute. When Dr. Bertram was done, he nodded and asked me if I had someone to pick me up. It was okay for me to leave if I promised to take it easy and stay in bed for a few days. I was sure Joe would find ways to help me with the latter part, but kept that to myself as I told the doctor I'd call Joe.

Joe was right on the doctor's heels, he'd been waiting outside for the doctor to finish. He wrapped me in his arms as he smiled into my neck.

"Let's get you dressed, Cupcake." He said, "Then I'll take you home and undress you again!"

"Sex fiend!" I said, but I had to smile as I mock-punched him. He laughed and took clothes out of a bag he'd been carrying.

"Need help with this?"

I assured him I didn't and asked him to wait outside. He tried to pull off a disappointed face, but I could hear him chuckle on his way out. I got up slowly, testing my feet's ability to support me before I stood. I didn't want to give anyone reason to believe I should stay.

Joe'd brought me clothes, but no toiletries or a brush. So I cleaned up as best I could at the sink, ran my fingers through my scary hair and got dressed.

The blond nurse entered, surprised to find me ready to go. She'd brought a wheelchair with her and explained about hospital policy. She didn't need to convince me, I was all for being pushed instead of having to walk.

We met Joe in the hallway; he'd already signed the necessary papers and took the wheelchair from the nurse. I paid close attention at the way he looked at her. I'm not that jealous, but it can't' hurt to be aware. Joe thanked her but didn't even crack a smile, as if he didn't really see her. I settled back in the chair with a content smile. If a hot nurse in uniform doesn't tempt your man, not much else will. Joe had really turned into a one-woman man, and the one woman was me.

He made a show of picking me up out of the wheelchair and placing me on the passenger side of his truck, I could tell he was enjoying taking care of me.

I couldn't make out everything he said, sometimes he would speak lower than other times, but I suspected those were the x-rated parts.

It was 9 AM on a Sunday morning, and the good people of Trenton were returning from mass or going to other services. Joe and I were headed for our temple, the Tasty Pastry. We didn't have to talk about it, it's what we did on Sunday mornings.

I'd worked at the Tasty Pastry after school when I was in high school and it happened to be the place were Joe relieved me of my virginity many years ago. He'd charmed the pants off of me five minutes after closing.

He was still charming, but he'd perfected a lot of his other skills since then.

After we got home, I waited long enough for Joe to finish his first donut and cup of coffee. Mostly because I had to finish my first two donuts anyway. Then I just needed to know.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?"

"You were there."

I rolled my eyes. No way was he going to get away with that. Joe put down his coffee cup, smiling. He knew exactly how impatient I was.

"Come on, Morelli!" I urged.

"Why don't you tell me the story from the beginning and I will add the end?" He suggested. That seemed fair enough, so I started.

"Ranger got a tip from Tank that this guy Maldoni had seen Lula get in her car. So we drove over to check it out. Now you!"

Wow, my part could really be summed up fast.

Joe had his cop face in place, and I didn't know what to make of it.

"We got a 911 call about an explosion and a fire on Comstock. I called you because I got a funny feeling and when you didn't answer, I drove over to check it out."

"A funny feeling?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

Joe shrugged. "I can't help it. Every time you're not with me and I hear of a catastrophe, I have to make sure you're all right."

That would have been insulting if he didn't have good reason for the 'funny feeling'. I'm not sure what the average is for people having their cars blown up or smashed by a garbage truck, or having other possessions set on fire, but I must be up there with the leaders. I thought it showed how much Joe cared. I decided it was time for a new Stephanie, one that showed how much she cared, too.

I got up from the kitchen table and stepped over to Joe, wrapped my arms around him and hugged him.

"I love you." I said. Not too long ago, I hadn't been able to tell Joe at all, and even now I used these three words sparingly. But this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Joe smiled and kissed me lightly "I love you too, Cupcake."

I put my head against his chest.

"Then what happened?"

"When I arrived, they had already sealed off the block and brought you out on a stretcher. I'm telling you, my heart stopped for the minute it took me to get out of my car and get to you."

He hugged me tighter.

"Do you know what happened?"

"What the guys tell me is that it was a remote-controlled bomb."

I pulled away to look him in the eye "You mean it wasn't somebody firing from within the apartment?"

Joe shook his head. "There was nobody in the apartment. Ranger and you in front of it, a few people in the other apartments. We questioned them all, none of them seemed like suspects. The bomb squad thinks it possible the explosion was triggered from across the street or somewhere equally far away."

This was disturbing. I'd thought Maldoni had fired some kind of rocket launcher at us.

"How do you know Maldoni didn't get away before the cops got there?"

"I don't. I'm telling you there was nobody in the apartment when we searched the place." He pulled me closer "What I do know is that you were damn lucky. You could have been killed."

I'd had that thought too, but unfortunately, it wasn't a new feeling. It used to make me dizzy enough to faint, now it was just a bad feeling in my stomach.

I'd been standing off to the side when the door had exploded. The real lucky one was Ranger.

"So did you find Maldoni?"

Joe sighed "No. He wasn't listed as a tenant, so we weren't looking for him. Not until Ranger told us about him, anyway."

I looked up "Ranger has already told you the beginning of the story?"

Joe nodded. "I just wanted to know if you had anything to add." He chuckled "Ranger was supposed to be admitted to the hospital, too, he was quite cut up. But he flat-out refused, said he had work to do."

Yes, that sounded like Ranger. I would have loved to see the discussion at the hospital though.

"And did he?"

"Did he what?"  
"Did he work, did he find Lula?"

Joe shook his head. "We haven't heard from Lula at all. And as far as I know, we haven't had any luck finding her. But Ranger filed a missing person's report so she is on the list of people we look for officially now."

That was good news and bad news. Good news because Lula was an official case now and there would be effort put in to find her. Bad news because no one had heard from her since two days ago. I couldn't stay at home; I had to go out there to look for her. I knew Joe wouldn't let me go, I'd have to sneak out when he left for work.

I refilled my coffee and got another donut. Joe had finished his one Boston crème and that was his breakfast. But he didn't get his composure from sugar like I did.

"So do you think someone planted the bomb to get rid of Ranger and me?"

"I guess it's possible Tank's informant gave him the information on purpose, yes. But I don't know if you were the target."

I didn't know either, but chances were good. That left the obvious question why someone would do that. Had we already gotten too close? Were we on the right track to find Lula??

Joe checked his watch "I'd love to stay home with you and make sure you're in bed like the doctor ordered, but I have to check in with Cilinski. We may have useable prints from yesterday's victim. And I think somehow the two cases are related."

My spidey sense had told me that from the beginning, and now Joe's cop sense backed up the theory. Plus, it would be easier for me to leave if Joe was busy.

"I'll be fine." I assured him. "I think I'm going to spend the day on the couch watching TV."

Joe frowned. "Steph, you're not going to go out there in your condition!"

"That's what I said!"

"You promise?"

"I promise! Jeesh!"

Some promises are meant to be broken. Joe meant well and he was concerned for my safety. I knew he'd call me the minute he found anything out, but I had to go and try to help.

"But I'll need my cell phone. Do you know what happened to my bag?"

He didn't look like he believed me, but he waved towards the living room.

"I got it out of Ranger's car last night."

He didn't move. Probably trying to decide if it was at all possible for him to stay home and watch me. He knew me too well.

Joe sighed and threw his hands up "I have to go. I will call you every hour to make sure you're still here!"

He finished his coffee and rinsed his cup, then he leaned down and kissed me. I put my arm around his neck and let him pull me up, molding my body against his. The kiss grew more intense and Joe cupped my ass in his hands. I was slightly out of breath when he pulled away.  
"We'll continue this tonight." He said, his voice slightly hoarse.

I had to lean on the kitchen table for support when he left; he sure knew how to incapacitate a woman. I did need to lie down for a little bit before I could venture out.

But first I had to call Ranger. I got my cell phone and noticed I had four messages. Probably most of them were from my mom, Joe hadn't called her with the news, and I wasn't going to tell her what happened either. I was going to tell her I was okay, but I had to talk to Ranger first.

He answered his cell phone on the first ring and, just like Joe, wouldn't hear of having me join the search today. Well, that was too bad, because I was determined.

"So you're saying I should be out looking for Lula by myself?"

Ranger sighed. I knew how to work him. He knew I was serious.

"I'll pick you up in an hour." He said "Morelli's going to kill me."

"Don't worry" I said, "You'll have time to leave town while he's busy killing me!"

I called Connie next, but she hadn't heard from Lula either. This was bad news. Lula had called twice on the first day, but not since then. I had a tendency to fear the worst, but I was trying to push that thought away.

I took a quick shower, did the hair and makeup thing, and then I took my medication because my headache was making a comeback. I knew I should be lying down and let the concussion get better, but there was no way I was going to sit on my hands while Lula was in danger.

I forwarded the home phone to my cell phone, in case Joe would make good on his promise to call every hour and called my mom to tell her I'd misplaced my cell phone but was okay.

Ranger's SUV pulled up just as I was tying my shoes.

I hugged Bob who had shared the donuts with us, gave Rex a piece of jelly donut and waited for him to rush out of his soup can, then I told both of them I was going to go out.

Rex looked up from his donut to give me the hamster equivalent of a 'Tsk, tsk, tsk', but I ignored him and grabbed my bag on my way out.

Ranger handed me a bulletproof vest before I'd even buckled in. He looked exhausted.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I've been better." He admitted, and that was unusual for Ranger. I figured he must be feeling downright crappy.

"Any word from Maldoni?"

Ranger pulled away from the curb and drove towards Hamilton.

"No. But we have unfinished business with Ernie."

Oh, I'd forgotten about him, our only lead as far as I knew.

"Has he been chained up this whole time?"  
Ranger smiled for the first time.

"Yes, but I had Ram keep an eye on him without his knowledge. A dead witness is no good to us."

Ranger always thought of everything. I was hoping my pain meds would kick in by the time we got to our destination because right now, I wasn't feeling too hot. Maybe Joe'd been right after all.


	8. Chapter 8

So sorry it took me so long to update, work was crazy. If I were JE and would be paid for this, it would have been sooner…

Honestly, I'm neither a Babe nor a Cupcake, I just try to keep everyone as close to their character as I can. I hope I succeed. Please let me know, I depend on your reviews.

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 8

Ernie was exactly where we'd left him. Ram didn't report any incidents and left when we arrived.

As soon as we entered the bathroom, Ernie started wailing. He looked worse than the day before, I hadn't thought that was possible.

Ranger opened the cuff around the shower curtain rod and pulled Ernie with him to the living room.

"Hey man," Ernie whined "Give me a minute here, I need to use the bathroom."

Ranger rolled his eyes at me and shoved Ernie back into the bathroom. It always makes me giggle when Ranger does the eye roll, so I quickly hid in the living room.

Ranger dragged Ernie in shortly after, an unreadable expression on his face. I decided to let Ranger do the talking.

"Last chance." Ranger said, his voice dangerously low "Talk."

Ernie was massaging his wrists where the cuffs had pressed in. He was trying to buy time.

When he didn't say anything, Ranger slowly took his gun out of his belt and checked its clip. Ernie's eyes widened "Hey, man…" he said.

Ranger looked up as if just remembering Ernie was there. I watched fascinated. Ranger was playing a role, and he was so perfect at it.

Ernie's eyes darted from the gun to Ranger and back again. He shook his head.

"You don't understand, man…"

Ranger nodded slowly "Oh, I understand. I understand I'm all out of patience and if you don't tell me what I want to hear right now, killing you may be the only highlight I get today."

His voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I'd pee my pants if he were talking to me.

"I…they're gonna kill me, man." Ernie whined.

"When I'm done with you, you're gonna wish you were dead." Ranger countered.

I felt the need to get some popcorn and sit down, this was better than any movie. Ernie looked ready to cry now. I wasn't sure how serious Ranger was, but I doubted he would actually hurt or kill Ernie.

Ernie slumped down on the couch, sighed, and finally met Ranger's eyes.

"Look, I got paid, it was nothing personal…" Ranger nodded and made a 'go on' gesture. My heart sped up.

"Me and Lula, we go back. They knew that, so they tagged me to talk to her."

'They? Who are they???' I wanted to scream, but I bit my tongue. This was Ranger's show, and so far, it was successful.

"Been watching her, you know?" Ernie continued. Ranger was listening quietly. I couldn't see his eyes but I figured they were boring into Ernie's.

Ernie licked his lips "Then she was alone, on Stark no less. Nobody cares on Stark." He was staring at his hands. What did he mean, he'd been watching Lula? I wanted to shake him until he told us everything, and fast. Ranger remained calm.

"Where did you take her?" Ranger asked, almost growling. He obviously didn't care about the other details.

"Train station. I was just the middleman, man! I dropped her off at a van, got paid and left. That's all I know, I swear, man!!" Ernie sounded to me as if he was telling the truth.

Of course, I am easily fooled.

Ranger put his gun on the couch, took out his key and unlocked the remaining bracelet around Ernie's wrist. Then he picked up the gun again, examining it. Ernie was squirming in his seat.

"Why am I not happy yet, Ernie?" Ranger asked.

"I dunno, Man!"

"Okay, I'll ask this only once. Who paid you, who was in the van, what did the van look like? In that order and less than a minute!"

God, Ranger could be intimidating! He scared the crap out of me!

When we left Ernie's sorry ass on the couch behind us, we knew everything he did, according to Ranger.

He worked for a dealer who worked for a dealer who, hopefully, worked for a big gun. I'd never heard the names he'd mentioned and had forgotten them already. Ranger had paid closer attention and he was on the phone with Tank, checking the connections. All we had were names, we needed the addresses or places of 'business'. None of it made sense to me. As far as I knew, Lula hadn't done drugs in forever, and she'd left her old life and the bad connections behind her when she started working for Vinnie, as part of her 'new life'. What would anyone involved in drugs want from Lula? She didn't have much money or any other worthy possessions, she didn't know any 'secrets of the trade' or anyone with any of that who would pay ransom. I was sure Ranger knew all that though so I didn't bring it up. Ranger knew more about people than they themselves did sometimes.

Ernie had zapped Lula and taken her in his car to a waiting white, nondescript van with unknown license plates. We still didn't know why or where the van had taken Lula. I just hoped she was okay.

My cell phone rang just as we were getting back into the car. It was my home phone number, and it was Joe. I let it ring twice before I answered just as I pulled the car door shut.

"How're you feeling?" Joe asked.

"I'm okay." That was sort of a fib. My head was pounding, I was kind of dizzy and the ringing was back in my ears. But I didn't want Joe to worry and come running back to the empty house.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, and I'll bring food. Get some rest!" Joe said. I felt bad for lying to him. I told him I would lie back down before I disconnected.

Ranger was still on the phone with Tank, giving him all the details. When he joined me in the car, he was smiling.

"That went well." He said. But then he turned to me and his smile disappeared "Are you okay? You look very pale."

I nodded "I'm fine." But I could tell he didn't believe me. It didn't matter, I couldn't stop now. I had to follow up on the lead and find Lula! Also, he was one to talk. Ranger didn't look like his usual self either. Sure, he covered it up better than I could, but since I knew him well, I could tell. He was wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt to hide the bandages that still covered his arms. For Ranger to still wear them, he must have sustained deep wounds. I wanted to ask him about them, but his expression had already closed up again.

"Let's just go." I said instead.

Ranger placed his cell phone in my hand and started the car.

"Tank'll call back with the results."

I wished I had a team, like Ranger. I wouldn't have to follow up each lead by myself when it came to my skips.

Ranger drove back to Comstock, slowly driving by Maldoni's house. The yellow crime scene tape was still up, and more windows were boarded up. Apparently, Ranger didn't see anything that warranted further inspection though, he drove on.

Black dots were dancing in front of my eyes and the world started spinning. I tried putting my head between my legs, but it didn't help.

"Pull over." I pressed out and Ranger swerved to his right immediately. I had the door open before the car was fully stopped and managed to get my head out before I puked on Ranger's car seats.

Ranger had come around the car and was holding my hair back. The world was still spinning, but the black dots had stopped dancing. I tried to take a deep breath to calm my heartbeat down.

"I'm taking you home." Ranger said matter-of-factly as he pushed me back into the car. I wanted to protest, but I felt too weak to argue.

Ranger's cell phone chirped when he had just put the car in gear again.

"Talk." He answered.

Whoever it was, probably Tank, did just that, Ranger was just listening.

"I'll be there in twenty." He finally said and disconnected. He cut his eyes to me for a second, then focused them back on the road "I'll get Tank to follow up. You need to lie down."

"So do you!" I tried, but I knew Ranger's mind was made up. And honestly, I didn't think I'd be much help anyway. Maybe the doctor had been right again, I should have stayed in bed.

The first thing I saw when Ranger turned into my street was Joe's truck. Uh-oh. This was bad. Not only had I left, I'd left with Ranger.

I glanced at Ranger, but there was no reaction from him.

"I'll handle this by myself." I said as we came to a stop in front of the house.

"You're sure?"

I was. The last thing I wanted was a standoff between the two alpha males in my life. I thanked Ranger for his help and he promised he'd call if he found out anything.

It took me a moment to steady myself when I got out of the car, so I held on to the door.

"Babe." Ranger said. "I'm okay!" I assured him and slammed the door shut. I could do this! Joe was a reasonable guy.

I took a few deep breaths and opened the front door.

Joe was in the kitchen, drinking a beer. I went past him on my way upstairs. First and foremost, I had to brush my teeth.

He was waiting for me in the bedroom when I came out of the bathroom.

"You look like shit." He said. "Was it worth it?"

He appeared calm, but I knew that could be just superficial.

"What are you doing here?" I tried to change the subject.

"You sounded terrible on the phone earlier, so I came home."

I closed the distance between us and put my arms around his neck. He didn't hug me back. He was pissed. Shit!

"I'm sorry." I whispered close to his ear "I was out looking for Lula." I was surprised at how tired my voice sounded.

I heard him put his beer down and finally his arm wrapped around my waist.

"You shouldn't have left. I told you we'd do anything we can. All I asked was for you to stay home one day." He sounded like he was trying really hard to remain calm. The old Joe would have had a full Italian tantrum.

He was right on all accounts. But he should've known better than to ask me to stay at home. I don't like orders. But I was too weak for an argument.

I took off my shoes and all but collapsed onto the bed. "We got a new lead." I managed to tell Joe "Ranger will call you."

I remember Joe climbing in beside me before I fell asleep.

It hadn't been noon when I fell into bed; it was dark when I woke up. I was wrapped in warm Morelli and felt a little better. I'll have to remember to be sick next time we have a fight, I thought, it had never been so easy to get back on Joe's good side.

I detangled myself and got up, careful not to wake Joe. It was 9 PM; I'd slept almost 10 hours! Surely the doctor would count that as getting enough rest. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to bring my cell phone, so I was dying of curiosity.

Ranger's message was first, 'Call me' it said. Connie and my mom left similar messages, although theirs had more words. I called Ranger first.

"Yo." He answered.

"Yo yourself. Did you miss me?" I bit my tongue. That'd come out wrong, not as playful as I'd intended.

"Babe." Ranger said. He would drive me insane with that one word, I just knew it.

"Well, I'm back from the dead. Did you find out anything?"

"Tank and I think all roads may lead to Vega, but we have some more things to check. Why don't you keep taking it easy and we'll talk tomorrow?"

Translation: We're doing this without you. I had to admit I was more of a liability in my state.

"Did you ever get to meet with Vega last night?" I asked him.

"No, I had to postpone that. My appearance didn't quite lend itself to a professional impression." I figured that's as close as Ranger would ever come to admit he'd felt like shit or was in pain or something.

I made Ranger promise he'd call me at any hour if he found out anything and disconnected.

Next I called my mom who'd called to give me grief about missing dinner the night before. She'd apparently forgotten to get that in during my earlier call. I couldn't really tell her why I'd missed dinner, so I told her I had to work. True to form, she gave me the spiel about how Mrs. Torino's daughter never had to work overtime and even got paid vacation. I'd gotten used to it, and at least it meant she wasn't mad at me. I promised her I'd try to be there for dinner sometime during the week and hung up.

Connie was more difficult to get a hold of. She'd called from the office, but she'd since left of course. I'd never called her home number, so I had to look it up first.

"Did you hear anything?" I asked her.

"I may have." she said, "I got this weird call, a lot of commotion in the background, but we got disconnected before the caller said anything. Of course it could have been someone calling from jail to be bailed out, but I wanted to mention it. Usually, that number shows up, but this was another blocked caller ID."

I agreed it could have been something, but there was no way to be sure. I was glad she'd told me though.

"I may have another lead." I shared, all excited like "Ranger got this guy, Ernie, to sing. He was the one who kidnapped Lula!"  
"No shit!" Connie screamed.

"Yeah, but unfortunately, he only took her to a waiting van, so we still have to find out where she was taken from there."

As I told her the news, I got all excited about it again. With Ranger and Tank on that lead, I felt we were very close to finding her.

"So, you were working with Ranger all day?" Connie asked. Clearly, Lula had taken second place after digesting what I'd told her. I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see me.

"Half the day. I had to take a time out to go to bed. But Ranger and Tank are on it."

"It's getting very lonely at the office without Lula." Connie said. I could imagine, but I wanted Lula back for other reasons as well. I assured Connie I'd let her know as soon as I learned anything and hung up.

I was contemplating dinner when my phone rang again. It was Ranger.

"Sorry to do this. Are you feeling up to being sexed up in a half hour? I need you for a meeting with Vega."

I chewed my lower lip. Of course I could get ready within 30 minutes. I was from Jersey, getting slutty was in our genes. But would I tell Joe what I was up to? First of all, it was almost ten and I'd have to wake him. Second of all, I'd just barely avoided a fight with him over this very issue. So should I sneak out and face his wrath later or should I wake him and risk not getting out of the house?

"Babe?" Ranger reminded me that he was still waiting for my answer. I decided it wasn't his problem one way or the other so I promised him I'd be ready to go in a half hour. He said he'd pick me up and fill me in on the way, then disconnected.

Since the full bathroom and all my clothes were upstairs, there was really no way to get ready without waking Joe. He had that light cop-sleep thing going on anyway, like a sixth sense for someone trying to sneak around.

I looked at Bob; he was sleeping in front of the stairs and clearly wouldn't be any help. Rex was running on his wheel and didn't stop when I asked for his advice. A lot of good those two did me in my time of need. I took a deep breath and climbed the stairs.

If I took the time to wake Joe in his favorite way, I'd be late. So I had to settle for stroking him lightly while saying his name. He stirred, but didn't open his eyes. I shook him. He tried to wrap his arm around me, but I stepped back just in time. That made him open his eyes.

"Everything all right?" he asked. I never wake him; it is usually the other way around, so he probably suspected the house was on fire.

I sat down on the bed, trying to find the right words.

"Yeah, everything is fine. You know how I told you about the lead Ranger found earlier?"

I gave him a moment to wake up and hopefully remember that I did tell him.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, uhm, Ranger needs me to…back him up tonight. Just wanted to let you know, I didn't want you to wake up wondering where I was…"

I tried to get up to get to the bathroom, but Joe held on to my wrist.

"Now?" He asked, "You're leaving now?"

"I have to get ready now. Ranger will pick me up at 10:30."

"I'm coming with you."

He got up and rummaged on the floor for his pants.

I didn't know how to tell him 'No', but I needed to tame my hair and put on makeup at the very least; there was no time for a shower.

I grabbed a black leather mini skirt and tube top out of the closet and hid in the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, I was ready. My eyes were heavily mascaraed and lined in black; my hair was teased high and sprayed. Now for the hard part: getting out of the house in this outfit.

I braced myself for the inevitable as I stepped back into the bedroom to get my shoes. Joe was dressed and waiting for me. He took my appearance in.

"Very sexy. You're not going out like this."

I sighed, "It's an undercover job. I am Ranger's ho'." As if that would make Joe change his mind. This truth thing isn't all it's cracked up to be.

"And who are you trying to lure in?" Joe looked at me with narrowed eyes.

I dug up my FMP's to avoid looking at him. He knew Vega, or at least his reputation.

"The whole Rangeman team will be there for backup, Ranger and I are just the front."

"And who are you trying to lure in?" Joe asked again, his voice dangerously calm now.

Fuck the truth, I decided.

"I'm not sure. I'll be briefed on the way over. But it might tie in with the lead we have on Lula."

"I'm going with you."

"No. I told you, there is a whole team already." Actually, I had no clue if it was only Ranger and me, but I didn't think so. Ranger never did anything without planning it thoroughly, covering all the bases.

Joe straightened and put his fists on his hips "Cupcake, the only way you are leaving this house in that outfit is if I'm going with you."

He'd have the physical strength to hold me back, but I doubted he would use it. I matched his posture and lifted my chin.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying either I'll go with you or you're staying here."

"Joe, I know what I'm doing. It's not like I'm going out by myself."

I tried to walk by him, but he moved with me, blocking the door.

"I'm serious, Stephanie!"

Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes. "You cannot tell me what to do or not to do. I appreciate your concern, but like I said, I'll be covered. Now let me go."

The doorbell rang and we both swiveled our heads in the downstairs direction. Ranger was here.

I tried to push Morelli out of the way, but he held his ground.

"What will it be?" Joe asked.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for your kind reviews, I hope you're still enjoying the story.

If you're still with me, here is part 9 for you, please R&R.

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: TV14

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 9

"What will it be?" Joe asked.

The doorbell rang again. My cell phone would be next; Ranger would try to get in touch with me before he'd try to pick Joe's locks. Funny, he'd never had a problem breaking into my old place, not bothering with doorbells or phones.

"That's Ranger. He's picking me up."

As if Joe wouldn't have guessed that. But he didn't move and his eyes never left mine.

"Then we better let him in." Joe said and took my hand. It wasn't a romantic gesture; he had a firm grip on me. As if I could bolt and run out of the house. Okay, probably that was a possibility. Joe just knew me too well. After all, the house had a back door.

We got to the front door like an old married couple. Mom and Pop answering the door together. Ranger looked up and I could swear I saw the ghost of a frown on his forehead, but he didn't say anything.

"I'm ready." I announced.

"So am I." Joe said.

Ranger nodded as if he'd been expecting as much.

"Let's talk." He said and brushed past us into the house.

We settled in the living room and Ranger shared his plan.  
What was that? Ranger didn't mind? Morelli and Ranger had never worked together smoothly. And maybe it was me, but the sexual rivalry between the two was palpable. If I had to be with both of them all evening, I'd be a nervous wreck.

"Tank will be our shadow until we get to the club." Ranger said.

"The club?" Morelli asked.

"La Maison Verte. Vega's club. He's expecting us. Steph is going to be pulling tricks, Rangemen will be her customers. I have a meeting with Vega discussing her future employment."

If Ranger was surprised I hadn't shared more details about our previous night out, he didn't let it show. I'd only shared what I'd thought was necessary with Morelli. No need to get him worried, I'd figured.

"If you want to ride along, I have no problem with that, but you can't know us, just in case someone makes you. A lot of your previous clients may be there."

Now, why hadn't I thought of that argument? Of course Joe could easily be identified as a cop, he was well known.

Morelli nodded. "No problem. I'd just like to be backup in place in case something goes wrong."

"Nothing can go wrong." Ranger said, "I have backup for my backup. But suit yourself."

We all stood.

"We'll be at the club by eleven." Ranger said and motioned for me to follow him.

"See you there." Joe said and pecked a kiss on my cheek before he took the stairs to get ready.

I stood dumbfounded in the living room. What had just happened?

Joe and I'd had a standoff without raised voices, and Joe and Ranger obviously had some ESP going on between them now. They'd probably had half the conversation in their heads. Joe was never one to be satisfied with the basic details only.

I closed my mouth, I hadn't even realized it was open, must have been a pretty picture.

"Let's go." Ranger said and started walking out. I caught myself before stammering incoherently, but it would be a while before I'd catch on. Clearly, I must have entered and alternate universe during my nap. This was neither the Morelli nor the Ranger I knew. But I did like the new Morelli even more than the one before.

I followed Ranger to his car as if in trance. Halfway there, I realized I'd forgotten my purse upstairs and ran back inside to retrieve it. I almost ran into Joe who was on his way into the bathroom.

"Be careful!" he said, and his eyes were soft once again. He stopped to plant a kiss on my lips.

"I love you." I said, surprising myself. I'd just said exactly what I'd felt.

Joe smiled "I love you, too."

I got my purse and sprinted out to Ranger's car. He'd already buckled in and started the engine.

"Okay, fill me in. Am I the best horse in your stable?" I was trying for a playful tone, but I realized I'd missed the mark when Ranger just looked at me.

"I mean…what's the plan?"

"Have you had dinner?"

"No."

"Then we'll talk over food. Sparky's is on the way."

That actually worked for me, I was starving. With my unscheduled nap, I hadn't eaten since breakfast, over twelve hours ago. I nodded my agreement, knowing Ranger would watch me out of the corner of his eye. I pulled down the visor to complete my makeup in the mirror. I'd only applied the bare necessities at home, fearing Joe would never let me leave in full slut makeup.

I added bitch-red lipstick and another layer of mascara. We were going to Sparky's, after all.

Sparky's is an equal-opportunity dive at the outskirts of Trenton proper. Dressed like a ho' or a mercenary (Ranger's usual outfit), you never had anything to fear. Dressed as a soccer mom, you wouldn't set foot into the place. The food is greasy, good and portions are big. But if you drop anything, be that your napkin or your purse, you never pick it up. That's how icky it is.

I understood why Ranger had picked it as our place to convene: Pimps and hookers were some of the most frequent patrons, along with truck drivers and small time crooks.

I blew my image in the mirror a kiss.

"Babe." Ranger almost growled next to me. I hadn't realized how closely he'd been watching me. Oops.

Good thing he couldn't see the heat rushing into my cheeks in the dark. I hoped.

I cleared my throat. Ranger looked pretty 'babe' himself, in a black cashmere sweater, charcoal grey gabardine slacks and a black leather jacket. If women didn't walk into lampposts at the sight of him, they'd at the very least lick their lips.

I thought he looked way too classy for a pimp, but what did I know?

Ranger parked the Porsche in front of Sparky's, among pick-up trucks and banged up coupes. Jukebox music and voices spilled out of the open front door. My upper lip involuntarily curled back when a beer-bellied bald guy stumbled out of the bar and threw up over the porch railing. I wanted to turn around and hide in the car.

Ranger must have sensed my hesitation; he came around the car, opened my door and took my elbow, leading me up the steps.

"Don't worry," he whispered close to my ear "Half the RangeMan staff is inside, the other half is listening from the outside."

His breath tickled the skin below my ear and I was berating myself for the reaction that sensation caused. As if the situation wasn't grave enough, I had to add sexual confusion to it!

But what Ranger said did calm me down; I knew from experience that Ranger's merry men could be counted on.

We got a table in the far corner, Ranger sat down with his back to the wall, as usual. That was fine with me, because I'd rather be facing him than the rowdy drunks in the place. I'd spotted Lester at the bar and Bobby and Ram in the unusual uniform of jeans and t-shirts in a booth.

I ordered fried chicken and fries, because I figured frying would kill any cooties, and a beer to wash it all down. Ranger ordered vodka.

I raised my eyebrows at his choice, but then I remembered he was in character, and there was a chance we would be spotted.

"Don't pay any attention to my demeanor, just listen to what I say. It's going to look like an argument, for our audience's sake, okay?"

Ranger was frowning at me. I thought I understood what he was trying to tell me. I was trying to channel the hookers I'd met on Stark Street, like Lula and Jackie back in the day, and put my elbow on the chair's back. Just a ho' and her pimp having dinner.

Too bad the patrons of Sparky's weren't aware we were putting on such a great show for them, there sure wasn't going to be applause at the end.

Ranger narrowed his eyes. I was starting to get it now. Since no one could hear us, he would just look pissed while he would go over the evening's steps with me. It would look like he was trying to talk sense into me, or maybe intimidate me.

My food arrived and nothing else mattered for a few minutes, I was starving.

Ranger filled me in on the whole plan while I was eating, occasionally pushing me when I dared to take my eyes off him, as if he was demanding respect.

Apparently, Ranger and Tank had been busy while I'd been sleeping. Going through the names one by one as Ernie'd been given them to us. Tank, Ram, or another Merry Man had gone out and paid them each a visit. Ranger had to be careful not to be seen too much in the circles if he still wanted to play his role as a pimp convincingly.

Eventually, they had learned that the van had followed orders from Vega directly. They still didn't know the 'why', but they knew the 'who'. The 'where' was hopefully going to be discovered tonight.

I wasn't upset I'd missed the day's events, it wasn't like they'd found Lula. They'd done all the legwork; I was coming in to save the day. That's what I was telling myself, anyway.

None of the dealers Tank'd talked to knew where Vega lived or worked. If things went well tonight, I was going to accompany Vega after our 'meeting' and he would hopefully lead us to some kind of residence or 'office'.

I understood why Ranger hadn't shared that part of the plan with Morelli, he would have never agreed to it. Some things hadn't changed after all. Ranger assured me I'd be well protected.

I wasn't going to remind him that the last time I was assured I was protected; they'd lost me after I'd made contact with the suspect.

This guy, Scrog, had been obsessively fascinated with Ranger's life, to the point where he'd wanted to be him. As part of that, he wanted me. It seemed like a good idea to act as bait; except for the losing all trace of me part. I forced the memory down before it would let the panic of the moment resurface. It had been a traumatic event for Ranger as well, since Scrog had kidnapped Ranger's daughter first. Best not to bring the whole thing up.

'This is different', I told myself 'Vega is just a bad guy, not a maniac!'

Tank had chosen to keep watch in Sparky's parking lot because there was no way he wouldn't stand out like a sore thumb inside. He was taller and broader than anyone I'd ever met. And that meant that he would be remembered. Since we were trying to keep a low-ish profile, that wouldn't work.

When I'd finished eating, Ranger put some bills on the table and grabbed my arm. I gasped in surprise, not pain, but I figured the effect would be the same. I only wished I'd had more warning about the whole charade, I felt uncomfortable improvising.

Lester got up from his bar stool as we passed and held on to my left elbow.

That part I was prepared for; Lester was going to be my first john for the night. I was supposed to go with him to 'his' van in the back, so I could get my paraphernalia.

Lester and Ranger had a short exchange that was supposed to look like negotiations, then Ranger let go of me and I left with Lester.

I've often wondered if good looks were a prerequisite for working at RangeMan, there was nobody working for Ranger that wouldn't make any straight woman swoon. Lester was no exception. His full name was Lester Santos, which made him one of the few Rangemen using his real first name, he was 6'3" and muscular.

Lester led me out of the bar by my elbow and steered me over to the waiting van in the parking lot.

"So, do you want the money up front?" Lester asked when we were in the back of the van, winking at me.

I rolled my eyes. "You couldn't afford me!" I teased.

Lester laughed out loud and started taking equipment out of an aluminum briefcase. It wasn't anything I hadn't seen before: a small microphone and transmitter and a panic button. I would not get an ear piece, because it would be too hard for me to hide it. Everyone but Ranger and I would have a two-way to communicate, and I would have to rely on Ranger to share any information he'd listen to.

Lester removed the plastic from the adhesive pads and looked at me.

"Sometimes I love my job…" He smiled.

"You wish!"

I took the microphone out of his hands and hid it in my bra myself, trying not to expose too much flesh in the process. Lester was ogling, too curious to be polite and turn around. He knew I liked him and would expect as much. He was grinning from ear to ear when I looked up. Sometimes I wished I had a girl friend who was single, so I could hook her up with Lester. He'd be fun on a double date.

When I was all geared up, he went through the plan with me again, making sure I knew how to get in touch with any of them if necessary and such. As if I needed a refresher course in pressing a button, which is all one can do with a panic button. But I listened patiently.

We waited what we thought was an appropriate time after I declined Lester's offer to go through the motions to be 'more authentic', and then he opened the van's back door and shoved me out. I thought it was all a bit much, considering we didn't even know if anyone was watching, but I did my part by stumbling and catching myself just before I fell.

Ranger was waiting for me at the bar and stuck out his hand for the money. He winked at me as he took my arm to lead me out of Sparky's and back to his car. Now for the real part, I thought.

"You're gonna be fine." Ranger said, reading my mind, as he pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic, resting his hand on my thigh. I was thinking I'd be fine if he took his hand away, but I knew what he'd meant. I probably looked more nervous than I was, still feeling a little off. Then I was thinking how nice his hand felt on my thigh and that made the color creep back into my face.

Thank God it was so dark! That reminded me that if Ranger could be here, working, so could I. After all, he'd taken the brunt of the blow the day before; I'd only been knocked on my ass. I just had to focus!

"So, uhm, are we still doing the same moves I learned for last time?" I asked, just to say something.

"I have a number of other moves in mind, babe, but for right now, yes. If the necessity arises, I'll rough you up." A smile played around his lips as he said this, and I grew hot in all the wrong places. I was going to burn in hell, I was sure of it.

"Woody is going to be your next customer. Be nice to him."

I rolled my eyes in the dark. Ranger was such a comedian.

"When are you meeting Vega?"

"Midnight. We'll just be in a back room while you work in the front."

The Maison's parking lot was a lot fuller than last time. Sunday seemed to be a good night for them; Ranger had to park halfway to the back. I spotted the black RangeMan van and two of their SUVs among the parked cars. I couldn't see inside, but I knew there were Merry Men in the vehicles. The ones inside the club had regular sedans parked like all other patrons' cars to complete the camouflage, and they wouldn't be dressed in combat clothes either. They'd probably fit on the cover of GQ along with their boss.

Ranger looked downright edible tonight. I realized I was trying to distract myself with thoughts of him and willed myself to stop. Everything was going to be fine. Conjuring up images of Ranger would only get me into trouble later, when I had to fess up to Morelli. Well, not that I would tell him I'd had impure thoughts about another man, exactly, but I'd feel bad.

I straightened my shoulders and waited for Ranger to open the car door for me. I could do this!

We had over a half hour before the meeting, and the plan was for me to look busy and for Ranger to supervise me. Ranger was convinced Vega had one of his men watching us.

We took our seats at the bar we'd sat at the time before; there was a different bar tender this time. I tried to discreetly pull my skirt down so it would at least cover some part of my thighs, but I didn't have much luck with it. When I looked up, Ranger's eyes were focused on my legs. I cleared my throat and he met my eyes, his pupils dilated. A moment passed as we both regained our composure.

Ranger ordered a beer for himself and a gin and tonic for me. I wasn't much of a drinker, but I needed a little courage boost.

Woody was seated at the end of the bar and raised his glass to me when my drink arrived.

"Courtesy of the gentleman at the end of the bar." The bartender said, putting the glasses down. I returned Woody's toast and sent him a toothy smile. It was so much easier to pretend to be Pretty Woman if the 'customers' were playing make-believe as well. It felt almost like a game, unlike the last time, when I had to convince poor Clark I meant business. I mentally shuddered at the thought of my last stint as a ho'. This time, I just had to make sure I didn't accidentally catch another man's eye; I had to focus on Woody.

I emptied half my cocktail and set the glass down, ready for action.

Following the plan, Woody slipped off his stool and walked over to me. I had to bite my cheek to not laugh at his outfit. He was wearing brown corduroy pants and a white dress shirt on his 6'5" frame. He could be an accountant or a sales guy. I'd never seen him in anything but RangeMan black.

Ranger gave Woody the once over and disappeared.

After a few minutes of small talk, I made a show of nodding my head, seemingly agreeing to a price or a service or some such. Woody offered me his arm and I took it, we were headed for his car.

I noticed the doorman watching me and wondered if he'd let Vega know, so I did my best to flaunt my assets as we walked past.

Woody beeped a black BMW open and held the passenger door for me. The windows were tinted, so we didn't have to pretend too hard, we just had to time it. Thank God for small favors. I was pretty sure Morelli was watching by now, and I didn't want to give him any more reason to be mad at me.

"Are you paying for a hotel room, or are we doing it right here?"  
"I'm pretty cheap, Hon, I may only be paying for the poor man's special." Woody grinned "I'm not used to paying for it at all."

I believed him. He had the looks and the charms to get into many girls' pants for free.

Woody playfully put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards him. I smiled as I found myself close to his chest. It was a nice feeling, even though I knew it was all in jest. I was about to play along and give him my best hooker impression, when the passenger door was suddenly yanked open.

I turned my head, expecting Ranger in his pimp role. I gasped when I stared into a pair of angry black eyes under a ski mask.

The next thing I heard was a 'Zzzing', and Woody gasped and went limp next to me. I had no gun or other weapon on me, so I tried to kick out at the stranger while screaming for help. It could only be a matter of minutes before Tank would be here, I thought. And where was Ranger? All I had to do was buy a minute or two, give the troops time to get into formation or whatever. It never occurred to me that my mike hadn't been turned on yet. That had been the next step, after I'd be done with Woody. After all, we were still in the foreplay phase. I was so panicked that I forgot all about my panic button. Oh, the irony.

There was another one of those weird sounds and something stung my neck.

Everything was fuzzy for a bit and then the world was black.

I came to slowly with the unfortunately familiar hangover that comes from a tranquilizer dart.

The first time I'd been tranquilized, I thought it felt like an alcohol hangover when you woke up. Now I noticed the subtle differences.

My head was pounding and hurt so bad that I groaned. Every muscle in my body hurt. I was still trying to remember what'd happened.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and opened my eyes. Lula was hovering over me, a frown on her face.

"You okay, Steph? I thought you'd never wake up!"


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you so very much for your wonderful reviews. You guys are so nice, it makes it so much easier to write and write and write.

Please keep your feedback coming, I enjoy comments and suggestions.

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: TV14

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 10

I tried to sit up as I grabbed Lula's hand, not quite believing what I was seeing.

"Lula?" I asked just to be sure I wasn't having a hallucination.

"Yeah, it's me. I was hoping to see you again, although to tell you the truth, I would have preferred it to be outside."

"Outside of what?"

She sat down next to me. Only now did I realize we were in a bare room, with only a mattress on the floor. Plain concrete walls. There was a small, boarded up window at the far side of the room. From its position, I guessed we were in a basement. The only light came from a naked bulb that was dangling from the ceiling.

I was so excited to see her, I gave Lula a spontaneous hug.

"I've been looking all over for you!!!"

Lula looked tired and dirty, as if she hadn't slept or showered since I'd last seen her. But there were no blood or bruises on her that I could see. There was a foul smell in the room.

She hugged me back briefly, but then pulled back.

"Yeah, well, I've been dying to see you, too. You better keep your distance though, I smell bad." She threw her arm out, gesturing towards the room "Welcome to my new place. Ain't it fabulous?"

"Where are we? And what happened?" I had to lean against the wall behind me because the room wouldn't stop spinning.

"I dunno. You were brought in a few hours ago, I think. It could be days, I have no idea. I thought you were dead at first."

"And what happened to you? What's with the phone calls?"  
Lula shrugged "I was told what to say. Didn't make sense to me. I was just glad I got a chance to tell you I was still around, you know. I was trying to get in a secret message or something, but the phone was always yanked away from me before I could come up with anything." She sighed.

"Do you know who's keeping you here or where we are?"  
Lula shook her head no.

"There is food twice a day through the kitty door. I never see no one. Whenever they want me to make a phone call, everyone but me is covered up." She was pointing towards a door almost completely in the dark. "And if you're wondering about the smell, the bathroom is a bucket in the corner." She shuddered and I almost gagged at the thought.

"Don't worry." I said, putting my hand on her arm "Ranger will find us, I have this tracking device and I…" My eyes wandered down my chest "Shit!"

I'd been strip-searched. The mike and the panic button were gone. My clothes were still the same, but they looked like they'd been taken off and put back on, they didn't feel right. This was a very eerie déjà vu. The same thing had happened when I'd agreed to meet Scrog, he'd stun-gunned me before he'd stripped me. "Fuck!"

"That about sums it up." Lula said.

I was trying to stay positive. I had found Lula! Granted, I hadn't been able to free her yet, but I knew she was alive and well. One thing at a time!

"We have all of RangeMan and Trenton PD looking for us. They won't be long!" I insisted. Lula scoffed but didn't say anything. As if she'd given up hope.

"We've been looking for you since the moment you disappeared! You had us all worried. Tell me what happened." I wanted to keep her talking, I couldn't stand to see her so down.

Lula looked down at her hands. I've only ever seen her cry once, but I thought she was close to it now.

She sighed again. "You'd locked the car. So I was waiting for you to get away from the cops…"

My hand was still on her arm, and I squeezed it lightly.

"So then this guy Ernie stops right in front of me. I barely recognized him, must have lost like 50 pounds. And he starts talking about how long it's been and all, and I'm just thinking what the fuck?"

So far it was what I'd been expecting. I wasn't all that interested in learning what had happened right away and more interested in having Lula get it off her chest. I believed what I'd said, it could only be a matter of time before Ranger or Morelli found us. Probably, Ranger had started searching for me when I hadn't come back inside after a few minutes. Maybe even sooner, when Tank or another merry man reported the commotion.

My unconscious body had probably been pulled out of Woody's car and into the back of another within a minute, a driver ready to go. Had the merry men been able to follow me out of the Maison's parking lot even? Where they even now surrounding the house, coming up with the best strategy to storm in? God, I hoped so. I'd been awake only a few minutes and already I could feel Lula's desperation spill over to me.

"I'm thinking he tazed me, because I can't remember anything for a while, until I woke up in his trunk." Lula continued "When the car stopped, I was trying to get into a position to kick out, until I realized my hands and feet were taped together and I had a hood over my head. So all I remember is being pulled out of one place and shoved into another." She sighed. What she didn't have to say was how scared she must have been. I could read it on her face.

I was trying to come up with an explanation for any of it, Lula's abduction or mine, but nothing I could think of made sense. Who were we? What good were we to anyone involved?

Thinking made my head hurt worse. Lula leaned back so we both had our backs against the wall. I couldn't imagine how she must have felt, being alone in this hellhole for days, with only a bucket to fill to break the monotony.

"And don't think I haven't tried to get out of here. That door is a lot more solid than it looks."

I followed her gaze to the door in question. I'd take her word for it. I was praying for our rescuers to come for us soon. If I'd have to spend more than an hour in this room, I'd go insane, I just knew it.

"We found Ernie." I told her.

"Hunh" Lula said.

"Me and Ranger were out on Stark and got a tip. Then Ranger persuaded him to tell us about you and the part he had in your kidnapping. We were this close to closing in on you." I touched my thumb to my index finger and held my hand out for her to see.

"Well, I'd say you're as close as you can be now."

"Yeah," I sighed "We had a great plan until I fucked it up and got myself caught."

I couldn't blame Lula for not getting excited about our efforts to find her. In the end, where had it gotten us? True, we were together now, but so far, her situation hadn't improved much.

What had happened to Ranger's backup for the backup? The only explanation I could come up with was that it had all happened within a minute or so, before any of the merry men had a chance to react.

I'm not a touchy-feely person. Mostly, I express my feeling through food or sarcasm. But I put my arm around Lula's shoulders to lend some comfort. She slumped against me. It hurt to see her so down, usually nothing ever dampens Lula's spirits. Okay, there'd been this one time, when a crazy boxer, Ramirez, had cut her up and tied her to my fire escape as a sick present for me, but that was an extreme situation.

Although I'd slept most of the day, I was feeling very tired. I wasn't looking forward to sleeping on a dirty mattress, but Lula was with me and with any luck, we wouldn't have to hold out the entire night. Or the entire morning, whatever time it was.

A metallic scratching sound woke me up and I had a long moment of disorientation. I knew who the head on my shoulder belonged to, but why was it on my shoulder, that kind of thing.

Lula and I must have fallen asleep sitting up. I don't know how much time'd passed; there was no natural light in the room. The scraping sound must have come from the kitty door in the only door of the room; I could make out two bowls on the floor that I hadn't noticed before. Room service, I thought grimly.

Why were we still here, where was Morelli? I didn't doubt for a second that he'd been searching all night. Ditto Ranger. I hoped Woody had been shot with the same tranquilizer that'd hit me, that he was okay by now.

Lula was still asleep and I didn't want to wake her, so I tried not to move. The cold from the wall had crept into my body and I felt sore and stiff all over.

I needed to use the bathroom. I needed a shower. I really wanted a comfortable bed and a boyfriend to snuggle up to. And thinking about all those things made me want to cry. What was taking them so long?

Lula stirred and lifted her head.

"Damn, I'm sore." She groaned. "No offense, Girl."

"None taken." I said. "I know my shoulder can't stand up to Tank standards…" When totally desperate, start kidding. Humor can at least keep you from crying.

It seemed to work, Lula smiled "That man in fine."

I nodded my agreement and contemplated telling her how much effort Tank'd put into finding her, how much he obviously cared about her, but what good would that do at the moment? I made a mental note to tell her shortly after we were rescued, so that she had the right idea about him.

"Breakfast is here." I announced with a nod towards the door. "Do they ever talk to you?"  
Lula shook her head "Like I said, I see no one, I hear no one, I talk to no one. This here is lumpy oatmeal, and it's all we get until there's a big hole in our stomachs again. Water will follow in a little bit."

I didn't feel like eating at all, since it would mean using the bucket at some point.

Just then a key turned in the lock, the door opened inwards, the breakfast bowls were pushed against the wall and a man entered. At least I thought it was a man, hard to tell in the baggy cargo pants and sweatshirt and hooded head. He was pointing a gun at us. Another man followed. Different color scheme, same clothes and hood. The second guy wasn't armed, or at least didn't hold a gun.

"You, white girl!" Number two said, looking at me "Get up."

I didn't want to go with him, but I really didn't want to get shot or beaten either, so I slowly got up. Every muscle and joint in my body protested against the movement, but I tried not to wince. Lula looked up and we locked eyes for a long moment. "I'll be fine." I said although I had no way of knowing.

Number Two had stepped closer and took me by the elbow. Number One was keeping his gun leveled at me, stepping back far enough to be out of reach.

I was pushed towards the door and thought about bolting until I saw another figure with a gun in the hallway past the door. There was enough security here to keep royalty safe. I still didn't know why anyone would go through so much trouble to detain me or Lula.

The only thing I was pretty sure of was that we weren't held by the hooker killers. Nobody'd ever mentioned kidnapping, the victims were always killed right away. So probably we weren't going to be killed by a serial killer. That didn't mean we weren't going to get killed though. My cheery thought for the day.

All three guys had successfully disguised their identity, so there was hope, I figured. If they were just going to kill us, there was no harm in letting us see their faces. The fact that they didn't want us to be able to identify them had to mean we were going to live. At least until Rangeman or the cops would find us. 'Hurry up, Morelli!' I thought as thug number three was waving his gun towards the stairs.

I was escorted upstairs, where all windows were boarded up. It looked like a ranch-style house, but there was no way of knowing for sure because big metal file cabinets were blocking the view from the basement entrance to the rest of the house. The only way for me to turn was right, into another small room. Two windows were boarded up from the inside with plywood. There were three metal chairs in it, some wooden boxes that looked like Army ammunition boxes, and a picnic table on wobbly legs. Just like downstairs, the only light came from a naked bulb hanging from the ceiling.

I was pushed down onto one of the chairs by one of the three goons; I didn't turn around to find out which one.

The door closed and I was alone in the room. I wasn't cuffed or gagged, so I could have moved around freely if I wanted to. I didn't see any sense in it though. I could see the entire room, and there was just the one door I'd come in through. No doubt it would be watched. Maybe I'd get some answers now. I cared less about what they'd do to me and more about why they'd do it. Okay, I did care a lot that I wasn't going to be killed or raped. But I had to know why Lula and I were being held.

I strained my ears to hear anything on the other side of the door. There were muffled voices for sure. Was that a car engine I heard outside?

Some kind of commotion, I was sure of it. I couldn't make out any words, but voices seemed agitated. There was a single gunshot and I jumped to my feet. I heard a door bang; there was shouting. Hope fluttered in my stomach.

Suddenly, a voice I recognized. "Lester!!!" I screamed, a hundred percent sure it was him. It had to be him!

I would have stormed out of the room, except I didn't know how many of 'them' were there against how many of 'us', and for once I stayed put.

No more shots were fired, but it sounded like a fistfight now. Then silence for what seemed like a long time.

Then the door's room flew open and I saw Lester.

I would have been overjoyed at the sight of him; except his hands were tied behind his back and duct tape was covering his mouth. His left eye was swollen shut and he was bleeding from a wound on his head. My heart sank and I plunked back down on the chair.

Lester was pushed and kicked into the room and fell to the floor a few feet in front of me. At the same time an armed men stood behind my chair and leveled his gun to my temple. I froze.

A second gunman came in and kicked Lester. I winced, and the gun was pressed against my head. Okay, I got it, 'Don't move a muscle!'. It took all my willpower to not jump up and come to Lester's aid. I knew I couldn't actually help him, but I wanted to protect him. Stephanie Plum, mother hen.

He looked up and his eyes widened when they found me. I couldn't make out whether he was shocked to find me here or horrified that I was threatened with a gun.

"Sonny!" the guy behind me yelled.

"All clear!" Came the response from somewhere in the house.

I didn't want to believe Lester'd come on his own. That was not the way Ranger's men operated. The more likely scenario was that Lester was a decoy, sent in to divert our captors' attention.

The man towering over Lester produced another gun and looked up for a moment before he leveled it at Lester and shot. I screamed before I could stop myself, before my brain could process what my eyes were seeing, that a small tranquilizer dart was sticking out of Lester's neck. His eyes closed and he went limp.

Apparently, his attacker had sought some kind of permission from the guy standing next to me. So that would make 'my' guy some sort of a leader. And both he and the guy who'd replied spoke accent-free English, from what I could tell. I didn't know if that was useful information, but I stored it anyway.

Two men in Army fatigues came in and dragged Lester out of the room by his arms. His attacker left behind them.

The door was slammed shut and I was alone with the guy and the gun to my head.

Other than the name that was yelled and the response to it, no words had been uttered. I was scared and panicking, and I feared my mouth would develop a mind of its own and start screaming and cursing at any moment now, so I started chewing my cheek.

Time, I just needed some time!

Another single gunshot disturbed the quiet. I flinched and silently prayed 'Please let Lester be okay, please let Lester be okay.' I didn't want to believe they'd render him unconscious and then kill him, that seemed to humane. He had to be okay!

Gun guy next to me didn't move. I thought he wasn't one of the three guys that had 'escorted' me out of the basement, but I wasn't sure anymore. They all wore black ski masks or hoods, only their eyes were visible. And I hadn't seen a pair of friendly eyes among the lot.

Once again, the door opened. A man in a suit entered. No disguise for this guy, he was about 5'9" with black, slicked-back hair and almost black eyes. He wore an expensive-looking grey pinstripe suit and leather loafers. He had an air of luxury about him and he somehow looked familiar. I just couldn't place him.

He sat down in one of the chairs facing me and smiled unpleasantly.

Probably he was what I'd been brought up for. Showtime, so to say. He wasn't holding a gun, although he could have been heavily armed under his suit jacket. Besides, I was held in check by the gun still pressing into my temple. It wasn't like I was going to attack suit guy.

His smile didn't reach his eyes, and I didn't think it was supposed to. He had the kind of eyes that made you look away real quick, there was something disturbing in them.

He waved a hand and the gun was taken away from my head.

"At last, we meet." He said, and I couldn't quite place his accent, he didn't sound local.

I didn't know how to react. Should I go all Jersey on him, ask him who the fuck he was and why he was holding Lula and me against our will? Or should I go all Ranger on him and just silently stare back? Which way was most likely to keep me alive?

Who was I kidding, on my best day I couldn't imitate Ranger's poise, and I was about as far removed from my best day as I could get.

"What do you want from me?" It was out of my mouth before I could decide.

He continued to smile in his eerie way.

"I apologize for the way I asked for this meeting." He said, all polite and calm.

"But it appears your employer has a rather tight reign on you. I thought it best if we talked without his presence."

Huh? My what? Vinnie? Vinnie'd never had any kind of reign on me. Clearly, he didn't mean Vinnie. That left…oh boy. Oh no. He couldn't possibly think…

"I believe you would much rather work for me." He continued. "But where are my manners, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Frank Torlione. I believe you were recently in negotiations to join my competitor's organization?"

Torlione. Why did that name sound familiar? I got the nagging feeling that I knew this guy.

"You want me to work for you?" I asked. I just wanted to keep him talking while I was trying to place him. He thought I was a hooker working for Ranger. Under any other circumstances, I might have been happy to learn our little ploy'd worked so well. Unfortunately, it seemed to have worked too well.

"You would make a fine addition to my organization, yes."

New York accent, I was pretty sure.

Mental head slap! New York accent, pimp, evil eyes! This was the second guy Ranger'd singled out right from the start, along with Vega! I remembered his picture now, Frank Torlione, from New York. At least I had the accent right. Only we'd never established contact with him, we'd been focusing on Vega. When Tank was checking out connections, he'd only ever come up with Vega. Well, Ranger, good news, I found our second suspect. Only in a slightly different way then we'd discussed.

I was starting to believe what Joe was constantly telling me, I had a knack for finding trouble; I was a magnet for it!

'Okay, Stephanie, keep him talking.' I told myself, trying not to hyperventilate 'Buy time until the troops arrive. Couldn't be long now, if Lester's appearance was any indication.

"What do you want with Lula?"

"Ah yes, Miss Lula was brought to my attention a little while ago. She will not be working with you. There appears to be some unfinished business between her and an associate of mine."

He was driving me nuts with the way he talked. And who was he talking about? What unfinished business? Lula would have told me if she was in some kind of trouble.

He waved his hand "But let's focus on you again. Please do not take last night's accommodations as an indicator of things to come. I can assure you things will be much more comfortable for a permanent employee. Jerry here," he motioned at the man standing close to me "was merely trying to keep you safe until I'd have a chance to talk to you."

He was creeping me out. I could sense that all his polite talk would disappear if I even appeared to be rejecting his offer. I had no trouble imagining him beating the shit out of me or shooting me. That fake smile would probably never leave his face.

That pretty much ruled out telling him to go fuck himself. But what was the right thing to say?

Torlione looked at his watch.

"I apologize, I have another meeting to attend. Why don't you think my offer over and tell me your decision this afternoon?" He stood. "It really would be in your best interest to accept though."

Hah, as if I hadn't figured that one out.

"Can I use the bathroom?" It was the only thing I could come up with, other than curses and choice words about his mother.

He looked shocked. "But of course. I am terribly sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. Jerry will escort you to the facilities."

He didn't fool me for a second. You don't grow up in Jersey without meeting your share of slime and evil. And Torlione was both. As creepy as I'd thought his picture was, the real thing was downright scary.

He nodded at Jerry and left.

Jerry nudged me with the gun and guided me out the door, down the hall that was now free of filing cabinets, and into a bathroom. I had a moment of panic when I thought he was going to stay with me, but the pushed me further inside and closed the door. I collapsed onto the closed toilet.

The room was rather small, as wide as the tub on the far wall. The window above the tub was boarded up, big surprise. The toilet and the sink were as white as the tub; the dirty tile floor might have been light blue at some point.

I did have to go urgently, so I took care of that first. Then I peeled off my slutty clothes and started the shower. If I could just stand under the hot water forever, I'd be happy. I just didn't want to leave this room ever again.

I was still telling myself that everything would be fine, I just had to buy some time, then I'd never have to lay eyes on Torlione ever again. Morelli would sort it all out; he'd arrest Torlione and do his thing. By this time tomorrow, I'd be at my parents' house, eating cookies.

I stood under the hot spray and was trying to make sense of it all. We'd been focusing on Vega, Torlione had never come up again. One of his men must have been watching us that first night at the club. I didn't believe for a second that Torlione wanted me to work for him. Probably he was trying to muscle Ranger off his turf.

But what about Lula? Had he been telling the truth about her involvement?

My head started hurting again and my stomach was growling. Other than towels and soap, there was nothing in the bathroom that would even come close to a weapon, I was helpless.

I fought back tears of desperation that were threatening to come out. If I started crying now, I'd never stop.

But I had to face the reality, Lula and I were fucked if we didn't get help, and soon.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you so much for your reviews, you guys are so nice.

I hope you still like this story.

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: TV14

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 11

When I ran out of hot water, I climbed out of the tub and wrapped myself in one of the towels, grateful they were white and I was therefore able to tell they were clean. I sat down on the rim of the tub, still trying to sort things out. And I had no clue what to do next. I felt guilty for having the luxury of a bathroom while Lula was stewing in her own juices downstairs, but I couldn't come up with anything that would get her up here. It's not like I had any negotiating power. That much was clear. Torlione didn't fool me with the nice spiel. He'd have one of his goons beat me unconscious if I so much as thought about declining his offer.

I was still praying it wouldn't come to that.

But sitting in the bathroom wouldn't solve anything either. Lula was alone in the basement, and I wouldn't get a genius idea. But I had to find out if Lester was okay.

If my calculations were right, it was midmorning. I figured I was abducted around midnight, woke up a few hours later and slept for a couple hours after that. I couldn't imagine I'd spent more than two or three hours with my back against the cold concrete wall. So less than twelve hours had passed since the start of our plan, but it felt like days.

I sighed and put last night's clothes back on, since it was the only alternative to walking around naked.

Two men were waiting for me in the hallway with their guns drawn. The door to the basement was open and it was the only way not blocked by a goon, so I walked back down. I strained my ears to listen for any sounds from outside, but I couldn't hear anything.

Downstairs, I noticed the room Lula and I were kept in wasn't the only one in the basement. There were three more doors. I prayed Lester was regaining consciousness behind one of them as I was pushed through the open door to my right.

Lula was sitting on the mattress, an empty bowl in front of her.

"Looking good, girl. Who did you blow to get all cleaned up?"

I snorted. She wasn't that far off from the truth. As the door slammed shut behind me and a bolt was thrown, I told her about my bizarre meeting.

"Torlione?" She asked when I had finished "Doesn't ring a bell. He new in town?"

I nodded "Just relocated from New York. But he said you knew a guy he worked with."

Lula seemed to ponder that for a moment, and then she shrugged. "Could be a number of people. I knew just about everyone in the scene when I was a ho'."

Torlione hadn't given me anything that would describe the person further.

We knew who we were dealing with now, but other than that, we were still clueless.

I told her about our show at the 'Maison' a couple days earlier, and how that explained Torlione's strange offer.

She smiled at that.

"Girl, I would have loved to see your skinny white ass all dressed up to pull tricks!"

I looked down at myself "You're pretty much looking at Stephanie Slut right now. Just imagine the hair teased high and the eyes lined heavily." I realized my slutty self didn't sound too different from my Jersey self.

We both knew we were just trying to distract ourselves by changing the subject to my appearance, but since we were both masters at denial, we didn't mind.

At some point soon, we'd have to talk about the possibility that our knights in shining armor might take longer than I'd thought and how we'd handle that situation. Before that, I'd probably have to tell her about Lester.

But I was describing my meeting with Clark, my first ever potential customer, at the moment. When faced with insurmountable obstacles, always go with denial. It wasn't the healthiest motto, but it kept me sane. For the most part.

I told her all about the setup and the merry men waiting for me to serve them.

Lula was laughing by the time I got to the part of Woody and me in the car, and I had to admit, up until that point it had been pretty funny.

I was just gathering up all my courage to tell her the rest of the happenings upstairs when the faint sound of a gunshot reached us.

We both sat up straight, ears strained. Since we were in a concrete room, sound from upstairs didn't carry well, but I thought I made out a few bangs, followed by more gunshots.

I looked at Lula.

"Do you think what I'm thinking?" I asked excitedly.

"The cavalry is here?"

I nodded and pulled Lula up with me. If the door was going to be broken down, I didn't want to waste a second before being rescued.

The question was should we scream and yell to draw attention to us? Or would they know where to look for us?

And could we be sure whoever was causing the noise was indeed on our side? I didn't like that last question. It had just occurred to me that the house may just as well be attacked by a rival gang or something. That meant that if we drew attention to ourselves, we might be taken like a trophy. It was just impossible to tell what was really going on upstairs.

God, I hated when I thought too much.

Lula's eyes met mine, and I had a feeling she was thinking along the same lines.

"Can you make out any voices?" She asked, not wanting to sound too hopeful and not having much success with it. I shook my head no. I couldn't hear any voices, just pandemonium.

More gunshots. There was definitely yelling though, several male voices. Impossible to distinguish them, no way of telling who they belonged to.

Both Lula and I hated waiting, it was hard for us to just stand there and do nothing. We held on to each other's arm. Probably less for comfort and more to restrain the other. I know I felt like bolting. I knew there was no sense in it since Lula'd told me the door was sturdy, but just listening to the ruckus was testing my patience.

"Damn, what' taking them so long?"

I glanced sideways at Lula, we stood facing the door. "I'm not sure we want to find out."

"You mean we don't want to find out what's taking so long or who it is in the first place?"

"Both." I decided.

She nodded. "I think you're right, but waiting here is getting to me."

It was getting to me, too, but it didn't get us killed. Whoever it was, they were distracting our kidnappers.

If the situation hadn't been so dire, I probably would have laughed. We stood like two little old ladies, holding on to each other, our eyes firmly on the door in front of us.

Then I remembered something Ranger said a while ago. Something about standing in the middle of a room, making a target of myself. So I shuffled over to the corner on the left of the door while holding on to Lula and explaining it to her. I was glad she went along, because I didn't want to stand in the corner by myself. At the time, as I remembered it, I'd only gotten egg and flour on me. I had a feeling if there were going to be projectiles this time, they'd be of the lead variety.

A door banged open, and the sound was much closer this time. The basement door, I assumed.

Lula and I both flinched when shots were fired from close by, it sounded like right outside the door to our room.

We squatted down as one, and I don't know why we did it. Strength in huddling, maybe? Lula's fingernails were digging into my hand, as I was sure mine were digging into hers.

Now someone was trying the door to our confinement. Since it was locked, the next thing we heard were shots at the lock.

I held my breath.

The door was kicked open and in the dim light, I saw the muzzle of an assault rifle, then a dark figure.

It took me only a split second to recognize the figure. I didn't need to see the face; I would know the stance anywhere.

With a scream, I jumped to my feet and in two steps, I was by the door. I had only planned to hug him, but the moment overwhelmed me and I jumped up, wrapping my legs around Joe's waist. I never stopped to think that he might interpret my approach as an attack and shoot.

I was laughing and crying at the same time and the momentum of my jump pushed Joe back into the hall.

After the initial surprise, he held on to me tight with one arm while motioning to the top of the stairs with another.

I heard feet rumbling down the steps, but I didn't look up. My face was buried in Joe's neck. It was awkward to hug him with the Kevlar vest on, but I wasn't about to let go. I'd never been so happy to see him.

After a while, Joe kissed my cheek and pried me loose, setting me down in front of him. He looked exhausted, but he was smiling.

He pushed some stray hair away from my face and his eyes found mine.

I didn't have to tell him how happy I was to see him; I saw the same emotion in his eyes.

Joe cleared his throat and turned away, shouting instructions to the men around us. Only now did I realize there were about ten men in SWAT gear in the basement. Two bodies lay on the floor; I didn't look too closely at them.

Lula appeared in the doorway, helped by one of the SWAT team. I grinned; I was betting Lula faked a little weakness there.

Another door was pried open and I heard the "Number three is alive." from inside. I hoped it was referring to Lester.

All around me, rooms and corners were being secured. Lula came to stand next to me, she was smiling.

"Looks like Captain Hottie came through for us."

Joe looked pleased and hugged me once more, planting a light kiss on my mouth.

"I have the paramedics upstairs, they probably want to give you two a once-over. I'll be up in a little bit. Just don't look down."

He released me and went over to the nearest SWAT member.

I knew what he'd meant. We shouldn't look down at the casualties. I took Lula's hand again and we climbed the stairs together.

Upstairs was total mayhem. I hadn't realized how much of the noise was filtered out before it got to the basement; it looked like a war zone.

Large chunks of drywall and wood had been blasted out of walls; ceiling beams had broken loose and blocked the way in some parts. I counted three bodies without looking down, two more men, still alive, were being cuffed as we walked by. I kept my eyes firmly on a door ahead, tugging Lula along with me.

I didn't recognize anyone on the team that had come with Joe, they weren't Trenton cops. So we passed them without stopping.

Lula and I found our way outside and were greeted by a paramedic. I was glad it was a different one than the day before, because I didn't really want any kind of remark. Like how we'd have to stop meeting that way or something. Cops, firemen and paramedics had a weird sense of humor.

I was unhurt anyway, I was merely escorting Lula.

Along with an ambulance, there were two all-black SWAT trucks, three sedans and Joe's SUV parked outside. There were no more dead people, but enough law enforcement to fill Pino's. Morelli must have mobilized all of the Special Forces in Jersey.

I looked around and didn't recognize the neighborhood because there was nothing there. I had been right though, we'd been held captive in a one-story ranch. Old trees surrounded the lot, and there was a small driveway through the woods that led to a rural road, I couldn't make out any houses nearby. It looked to me like we'd been taken to the middle of nowhere.

Lula was still being looked over when two black SUVs pulled into the driveway and came to a stop with screeching tires in front of the house.

The SUVs' doors opened, Tank and Hal emerged from the first one, Ranger from the second.

I knew they would have spotted me driving by, but I raised my arms anyway, waving frantically to get their attention.

Ranger was giving instructions, then Hal entered the house and Ranger and Tank came over to the ambulance.

I really wanted to see the reception Lula would give Tank, but Ranger took me by the elbow and led me away.

"Are you okay?" He asked, not releasing my elbow.

I nodded "I'm fine. Lula is, too, she just looks a little worse for the wear."

Ranger glanced over my shoulder to where Tank was now with Lula.

When he refocused on me, his eyes were on my nose or somewhere nearby; he was definitely not meeting my eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said, shaking his head lightly "I cannot even begin to describe how sorry I am I let you get away from us."

I hugged him spontaneously.

"You're here now. That's all that matters!"

Truth was, I couldn't be mad at him. I'd been part of the operation and I'd known there were risks. Okay, so I hadn't spent any time thinking about those risks, but still.

And I meant what I'd said; Lula and I were fine, no harm done. Well, no harm to us anyway.

As far as I was concerned, I had no right to blame Ranger for anything. Probably Morelli had told him a while ago what his opinion on the subject was though.

Ranger held onto me and kissed my hair, saying something in Spanish. He slowly released me and met my eyes.

Just like Morelli, Ranger looked like he hadn't slept since the night before.

"Babe, how did you…" Ranger started, but I put my fingers over his lips.

"Let's get Lula cleared by the EMT, grab Morelli and get something to eat. I have a lot to share, but I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

Ranger smiled against my fingers still on his mouth. He nodded almost imperceptible. I wasn't trying to procrastinate, I was starving!

Movement caught my attention from the corner of my eyes, and I turned my head towards the house's front door. Hal was supporting Lester who was limping.

Lester looked up and waved at Ranger and me.

"You got it." Ranger said "Is it okay if I let Hal take Lester back though?"

I pretended to think about that for a second before I slapped Ranger's shoulder and huffed back to the ambulance to check on Lula's status. As if Ranger would ask permission from me. Wise ass!

Lula was fine. Not that she told me that, I could see for myself. Well, it was difficult to see where she ended and Tank began, but anyone with such a tight grip on Tank had to be feeling just peachy.

The EMT seemed to agree, he was already packing up.

The havoc inside the house was slowly subsiding, black-clad men were boarding one of the trucks as the plain clothed cops and CSI techs were taking over the scene.

I was leaving Lula in Tank's capable hands and trundled over to Morelli's SUV to wait for him. I was hoping he didn't have to stay until the end.

Ranger saw Hal and Lester back to the Rangeman truck, then walked over to me.

"How's Lester?" I asked him when he'd caught up with me. Ranger glanced over to Tank and Lula.

"Not as great as those two, but he'll be okay. They beat him up some, he's tough though."

I grimaced as I remembered how Lester'd been rough handled in front of me and shuddered involuntarily.

"Babe, it's over." He said, putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close.

"Not yet."

He raised an eyebrow. I shrugged "I don't think I'll be able to tell it twice, let's wait until we're all together."

Ranger nodded.

He hugged me one-armed and planted a kiss on my hair.

"I'm glad you're okay, Babe."

I was glad I was okay, too. And that Lula and Lester were okay. And that Ranger and Morelli had found us before the meeting Torlione had threatened me with.

I slumped against Ranger's chest and sighed.

I looked up when I felt him tense and saw Morelli walking over. Of all the moments, Joe had to choose this one to appear.

I was hoping Joe was going to dismiss what he saw in light of the recent events.

Lula broke away from Tank and ran over to Joe when she spotted him. She gave him a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but Joe smiled at it.

Together they walked over to where Ranger and I were standing.

"We're gonna give Lula a ride back to her house first, if that's okay with you." Joe said.

I nodded. Probably Ranger needed Tank before Lula would drain him of all his strength.

We all agreed we'd gat cleaned up and meet later for the debriefing.

Lula'd all but fallen asleep in the back seat when we arrived at her house. She hugged me awkwardly from the back and promised she'd be ready to be picked up in two hours. I sighed and slumped back into my seat after we'd dropped her off.

Joe put his hand on my thigh and squeezed it lightly. I covered his hand with mine and closed my eyes.

It was noon; we were going to pick Lula up at two. But until then, I was going to make up for missed time.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I remembered, Joe was picking me up and carrying me over to the house. He had shed his bulletproof vest but was still dressed all in black and just thinking about his toned muscles under the t-shirt made me wake up completely.

"You're carrying me all the way to the bed?" I teased.

"I wish. Unfortunately, we haven't trained Bob unlock and open the door yet." He said it with so much genuine regret in his voice that I chuckled. He put me down on the porch in front of the front door and kissed me lightly before going for his key. I stood on my own two feet, but I didn't let go of him, I didn't ever want to let go of him again.

Bob had other plans than Joe and I. He rushed past us as soon as the door was open and all but demanded a walk. Joe sighed "He hasn't had a walk since last night…"

I wanted to tell him what hadn't been done to me in longer than that but I just reached inside for Bob's leash and took Joe's hand.

I was determined to make the two o'clock meeting a short one and take Joe exactly where I wanted him.

We walked hand in hand, silently. I knew Joe was given me the time I needed, and he knew I would tell him everything. But I still didn't think I could go through it twice. He had successfully shielded both me and Lula from the other cops at the scene. We'd gotten away without a statement. That didn't mean we didn't have to give one, I knew it was mandatory.

After our walk, a quick lunch and a short nap on the couch, I got up to get ready.

Joe had called Ranger and everyone was to meet at the new Chinese restaurant. Why they'd picked Chinese or a restaurant in the first place was beyond me, but everything involving food had my vote. I was just as curious to find out how the men had spent their night as they probably were to find out about ours.

I took a shower, did the blow dry and gel thing, and applied makeup. I was ready to go at a quarter of two and convinced Morelli we wouldn't have time for anything on his mind if we wanted to make the meeting on time. It was fascinating how well my denial mechanism worked; no one would guess I'd been held captive at a criminal's house just hours before.

Us Jersey girls are tough.


	12. Chapter 12

Okay, so this chapter is a lot of talking and not much action. But it had to be said, you know?

I hope you like.

Thank you so much for your reviews, I appreciate every single one of them!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: TV14

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun. I'm trying to convince Ranger to stay though…

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 12

Joe drove us over to "The White Dragon", a fairly new restaurant closer to Haywood and downtown than the Burg. I had never been inside, but we'd ordered take-out from it once.

Ranger had reserved a small function room for us. A round table had been set for eight.

Tank and Lula had arrived first and greeted us when we entered. Lula looked like a new person, all cleaned up and with a lovely rust-colored sweat suit on. Not even spandex. Tank looked, well, happy. I couldn't remember ever seeing him like this, he was beaming. Clearly happy to have Lula back in his arms. Ranger, Lester and Hal arrived at two on the dot.

Tank set up a tape recorder and seated me next to Lula. He handed us a few forms. He'd taken care of everything; they were the official police forms. We'd just have to fill them in and sign, Morelli would take care of the rest.

Joe took a seat next to me, Tank sat next to Lula.

The waiters arrived with hot tea and handed out the menus.

Before we had the time to decide on what to order, a man entered and approached our little group. I didn't know him, but he had 'cop' written all over him, even though he was wearing black jeans and a charcoal grey sports coat. Joe got up.

"Everybody, this is Detective Michael Cilinski. He is the primary on the hooker murder case. I thought it would be a good idea if he hears this."

He was looking at Ranger as he spoke. Wonders never seize, I could have sworn Morelli was asking for Ranger's permission. Ranger moved his head slightly, and for him, that was a nod.

"Okay everyone." Ranger said and immediately had all our attention.

"We're going to try to make this a nice afternoon and all, so we're going to get business out of the way first. Then we're gonna order dinner and relax."

I could see Lula grasping Tank's hand. I felt like holding on to something, too, but Joe still hadn't returned to his seat, he was filling Cilinski in.

Hal busied himself with the recorder and set up two microphones in front of Lula and I. He took pens and writing paper out of a briefcase and put them at Joe's seat on the table.

I liked Ranger's suggestion because this way, I'd get the uncomfortable part out of the way, then I could enjoy food. Also, I wanted every detail of the other side of the story, what had taken them so long and all.

Cilinski sat down and pulled a writing pad from his pocket; Joe took his seat and locked eyes with me.

"You ready?"  
When I nodded, he cleared his throat and switched the recorder on. He spoke his name, the date and time, and Lula's and my name into the microphone in front of me, never taking his eyes off me.

"Lula," he said "Please start with your side of the events starting on Friday."

Lula swallowed and started talking. She went over finding the body with me, leaving the apartment building and being approached by Ernie.

At this point, Joe interrupted.

"How do you know Ernie, and what is his last name?"

Lula didn't look comfortable when she said she knew Ernie from a while back, had met him on Stark Street, and didn't know his last name.

I could see Tank squeezing her hand as she continued her story. It was pretty much what she'd told me in the basement, except her voice sounded hoarse now, she was clearly nervous. Lula continued by talking about her journey to the basement.

"I was in the basement for I think a day or two when Stephanie was brought in. She was unconscious."

"Who brought her in?" Joe interrupted again. He had his cop face in place; there was no way to tell what he was thinking.

"Two guys." Lula said. "Just like everyone else, they had their faces covered. I don't know if they was black or white, young or old."

Joe nodded and made a 'go on' gesture with his hand.

Lula took a deep breath and concluded "Steph and I spent the night, then she was called upstairs. I had breakfast and when she returned, we heard gunshots and you guys arrived."

"At any point in time, did you recognize anyone other than Ernie on the first day?" Joe asked.

Lula shook her head. Joe pointed at the microphone and Lula said "No."

"Do you know where you were taken, how long the car ride took?" Joe asked.

"No." Lula simply replied.

"Were you assaulted or hurt in any way?"

"I was zapped by Ernie, other than that, no."

Everyone around the table exhaled at that. Tank put his arm around Lula's shoulders. I looked up to check on Lester. His eye was completely swollen shut and was a dark shade of blue. He also had some minor cuts on his face. I felt bad for him, but at the same time I was happy they'd spared Lula.

"Can you describe the room you were held captive in?" There was no emotion in Joe's voice, he was all business. I cut my eyes to Ranger. His expression was just as unreadable as Morelli's. I was wishing I had a poker face like they did. Just like Lula, my emotions were always clearly displayed for the world to see, even if I didn't express them verbally.

Lula described our prison, it didn't take long since there hadn't been much in the room.

"Is there anything you would like to add at this point?"

"No, thank you." Lula said, I'd never heard her talk this politely. I figured she was nervous out of her mind. If it hadn't been for Tank, I don't know she would have lasted in a room with two detectives. Probably, it was with Lula in mind that Joe and Ranger had chosen a neutral meeting point.

"Miss Plum." Joe said and I jumped. I hadn't been prepared for being addressed formally.

"Y..yes?"

"Can you describe the events of yesterday and today for us?"

I knew the tape was going to be transcribed later, but I thought Joe was overdoing it with his official tone and I rolled my eyes at him to tell him as much.

He nudged my side, trying to get me to 'play along'.

Ranger's eyes were on me and he nodded slightly, as if to say 'Go on.'

I didn't know how far back to start. How much of our plan did Joe want on the tape, was it all legal? I didn't want to get him or Ranger into trouble.

"I, uhm, was in the parking lot at Sparky's…in a car with a friend of mine."

Joe nodded, he liked my approach. I'd decided it was the easiest way out. I was telling the truth without revealing too much.

"What were you doing?" Joe asked. I shot him a dirty look and he shrugged.

"We were talking when the door was opened and we were attacked. My friend was shot with a tranquilizer dart shortly before me."

Joe's eyes narrowed slightly and he had a death grip on his tea cup, but his cop face never slipped.

"How do you know it was a tranquilizer dart?"

"I got a look at the projectile my friend was shot with." I said and stuck my tongue out at Joe. Ranger was chuckling. I was glad one of us was enjoying themselves.

"What happened next?" Joe asked.

"I don't know." I said truthfully "I passed out."

Joe rolled his eyes. I'd known exactly what he'd meant, but I felt like beating him at his own game.

"Were you able to identify your attacker?"  
"No."

"What is the next thing you remember?"

I looked at Lula. "I woke up in a cold and damp room next to Lula."

She smiled and squeezed my shoulder with her free hand.

"She told me I'd been there for a while."

Joe nodded and motioned for me to go on.

"We fell asleep at some point. When I woke up, we were given food."

I spared them the details about the bathroom facilities and the frequency of the food.

"Shortly afterwards, two men entered and told me to follow them upstairs at gunpoint." My hands were starting to shake at the thought of Torlione. I went over what'd happened upstairs quickly. Not leaving anything out, but not spending any time on details.

"I heard a gunshot and Lester Santos was brought in and beaten." I looked at Lester at that point and he sent me a small smile.

"Were you tied up or gagged?"

"No. But one man was holding a gun to my head."

I thought I heard Ranger suck in some air, but I wasn't sure. A quick glance of Lula told me she was reliving it with me as if she'd been there.

"Where you threatened?"

"Not verbally, no. Frank Torlione made it clear though that he wouldn't accept resistance."

Joe's eyebrows shot up. "How were you able to identify the suspect?"

The eyebrows had given him away. Either he was concerned or I was in trouble. If only I could have brought in Ranger to explain this part.

"He was the only one of the bunch that wasn't hooded. I saw a mug shot of him once and recognized him." Hopefully no one would ask where I'd seen the mug shot.

"How did he threaten you?" Joe's voice was a little lower now; he was probably struggling to keep calm.

"He wanted to hire me as a prostitute." I said simply. I added how he'd given me time to think about it. Then I skipped over my private time in the bathroom and ended with the advent of gunfire.

"Would you like to add anything at this point?" Joe repeated the question he'd asked Lula earlier.

'My boyfriend looks hot in SWAT gear' I wanted to add, but I just said "No."

Joe turned the recorder off and let out a whoosh of air.

"Babe." Ranger said, almost whispering. I knew he was blaming himself for what had happened.

Tank got up and picked up the tape recorder and microphones, then he repositioned them in front of Lester.

"You're next, Santos." He said.

Lester sat up straight and grimaced, as if the movement was causing him pain.

I took a sip of tea and exhaled. The worst part was over for me. Lula must have felt the same way, I felt her relax next to me.  
"Damn." She said to no one in particular.

"Fuckin' A." I quoted her and we both giggled. Joe shot us a stern look to shut us up. He pointed at the forms in front of us and we started filling them out.

Since Cilinski was already sitting next to Lester, he took over the interview at this point.

Lester told the recorder how he was employed by Rangeman Ltd and as such had been a part of the investigation. It was a safe confession; Rangeman had been brought in to the murder case officially. Thank God for small favors.

Lester continued by saying he'd been planning on doing surveillance on a suspicious house when he was discovered and decided to enter.

I couldn't quite read Ranger's reaction, whether it had been planned or Lester'd screwed up the plan.

Lester made it sound like he'd entered the house and had tried to overwhelm the bad guys all by himself. He'd been quickly overpowered and brought into the room I was sitting in at that point.

Lester confirmed he couldn't ID any of the kidnappers because they'd been hooded.

As I had suspected, he'd been thrown into a basement room where he'd woken up shortly before he'd heard gunshots.

That concluded Lester's part, only Morelli's statement was left since Ranger and Tank had arrived after the big action. I was going to get every last detail of their story later, I decided.

Cilinski asked Lester to switch seats with Morelli since the tape and microphone were already set up. I thought they could have thought of that before, but kept my mouth shut.

When Lester sat down next to me, I hugged him and kissed his cheek. He smiled at me.

"I'm sorry I got you hurt." I admitted.

He shook his head "I got myself hurt. And I deserved it, too, for getting you in trouble on my watch!"

"Guess we're even then." I said and leaned into him.

Up close his black eye looked painful. I made a mental note to at least buy him a drink later.

Cilinski asked how Joe had known where to direct he team.

"Rangeman's team and my team were in constant radio contact. When Mr. Santos did not check in after thirty minutes, I decided to follow up at his last known location."

"And how did you know his exact location?" Cilinski asked. No doubt he already knew the answer.

"All of Rangeman's cars are equipped with GPS systems and their location is tracked at their headquarters."

Joe then went over how he'd positioned the men and entered the building, warning the suspects they encountered that they would shoot if weapons weren't dropped. I wasn't quite sure I believed that part or if Joe just remembered it for the recording, but he sounded pretty convincing.

He ended by telling the machine how he'd found Lula, Lester and myself and how they'd secured the building and detained two of the suspects, as they were officially called.

He conveniently did not have a total number of dead people at the scene.

Finally, the official part was over and Tank got up to get a waitress into the room to serve us drinks and take our orders. Cilinski got up, popped the tape out of the recorder, and motioned for Joe to join him outside.

We all read the menu, but we mostly knew what we wanted.

Dinner at the restaurant was somewhat unusual for me, I mostly get Chinese delivered. So I just ordered everything Joe and I usually get and beers to wash it down.

Ranger was the only one sticking with tea; he had that whole 'my body is my temple' kind of thing going on at times. I never drank much, but I could definitely appreciate the calming attributes of alcohol.

Lester was the first to raise his glass after the drinks arrived.

"To the accomplished mission!" He toasted and we all chimed in. Then he got up and found his old seat again.

I noticed he hadn't said 'successful mission'. Technically, the cleanup had been successful after the botched mission.

But the beer tasted just as good.

Morelli returned without Cilinski and took his seat back, leaned close and whispered "We have more to talk about, Cupcake. Don't get snockered."

Which of course made me decide to order another beer as soon as possible. Anything to delay an uncomfortable talk.

"Lester," I said "Now that the recorder is off, tell me what really happened. You draw the short straw or something?"

Lester almost choked on his beer. Ranger smiled.

"Well Steph," Lester drawled in an accent I'd never heard him use before "Some of us are better at keeping our clothes on than others. Know what I mean?" he winked at me.

He was teasing me? I'd felt bad for him only minutes before and he was teasing me?

"Oh, you wear a panic button in you panties, too, Lester? In case you get lost??" I asked all innocently.

Hal and Tank burst out laughing and Ranger was positively chuckling now.

It was quickly explained that Lester had indeed be wearing a GPS thingy so that Joe's team was able to locate him. Basically, all of Rangeman had split up in search for us and if they had a lead, they were to stay at that location for more than twenty minutes. They'd been canvassing practically all of Trenton and surrounding townships, looking for any kind of van or anything suspicious at all.

It could just as soon have been Ranger who was beaten up in and tranquilized in front of me. I closed my eyes at that thought. I didn't know if I'd been able to stay in my seat if that had been the case. Probably, I would have gotten us both killed.

I learned that the guys had been searching for us all night, but they didn't have our trail initially because we'd all been blindsided. Nobody had been watching Torlione's men, Vega'd been the only one on the radar.

I had to read between the lines as Morelli was explaining the police action and Ranger was covering Rangeman's, they told their sides without emotions.

Our food arrived and we all busied ourselves with getting it just the way we liked it. Ranger caught my eye and shook his head slightly. He didn't have to say it, I could provide the captions. 'Babe. That stuff will kill you'. I just knew it. He'd probably ordered bean sprouts and tofu; I couldn't identify the food in front of him. I shrugged and dug into my chicken lo mein.

Morelli didn't miss a beat; he went right for the spare ribs. As far as he was concerned, everything he liked was right in front of him. A man of simple pleasures.

I pushed back from an empty plate and discreetly opened the top snap of my jeans.

Lula and Tank looked like they'd need to get a room soon; Lester looked like he was in pain.

Clearly, it was time to break up our little meeting. But I had to get at least something off my chest, even if I couldn't grill everyone individually.

"There's one thing I didn't mention before. Or rather, we need to talk about it more." I declared.

Ranger looked up from his raw stuff plate, Hal and Lester stopped talking.

"What's that, cupcake?" Joe asked.

"Well, uhm, Torlione is still out there."

"And?" Ranger asked. Did he want me to spell it out for him? I rolled my eyes.

"And what are we doing to apprehend him?"

"There's no 'we', Cupcake." Joe said slowly.

"The hell there isn't!" I challenged him and looked at Ranger for support.

"Too dangerous. The last 24 hours proved as much." Ranger said. Et tu Ranger? I was outnumbered. And Ranger had sounded like he wouldn't allow any appeal. I'd have to talk to him later, alone.

I would need Lula to back me up, too. But she'd need some rest and quality time with Tank first.

So I settled for a death glare at Joe and emptied my beer. The waitress came back to check on us, and I took the opportunity to order another round.

"So, where's Woody?" I asked "Is he okay?"

"He's fine." Tank said "Someone had to hold town the fort today. He got the most rest last night."

Hal chuckled "After he stopped beating himself up for letting you get kidnapped."

Joe's face darkened. I put my hand on his. "It's okay." I whispered.

"It wasn't his fault. It all happened really fast."

"We train for fast." Ranger said. He had ears like a bat. "That's what we should be prepared for." Oh boy. I didn't want to know what kind of lecture the merry men had to endure the night before.

"So how long did it take you to figure something was wrong?"

Tank shook his head, Lester and Hal looked down to their plates.

"Tank noted the car speeding away and tried to contact Woody." Ranger said. "A van was parked between you and Tank's car, he didn't have a clear visual."

"I was watching the side door." Morelli said.

"They must have been waiting for me in the parking lot, ready to pounce."

Ranger nodded. "They went to great lengths to outsmart us."

"Where did you find my tracker?"

"About a mile from the club. Looked like they undressed you en route and just tossed the mike and tracking device." Ranger said.

I shuddered involuntarily. One of them had touched me, everywhere.

"Guys, I don't mean to be a party pooper." Lula spoke up "But I'm dead on my feet. I gotta go sleep."

Tank got up and held Lula's hand. I hugged her quickly "Get some rest. Let Tank take care of you!"

"That's the plan girlfriend." She winked at me. I had no doubt she was tired, but I didn't know if she'd go right to sleep.

Tank nodded at Ranger; probably he'd taken the rest of the day off.

"So you all were up searching all night?" I asked when Lula and Tank had left, hoping to get more details.

Hal waved his hand as if that was no big deal, Ranger just almost-nodded. I looked at Joe.

He squeezed my hand "I don't think anyone of us was thinking if giving up before we'd found you."

Lester confirmed the sentiment. I had tears in my eyes. Love and friendship can choke me up when it's displayed so openly.

We finished our drinks and Ranger picked up the bill.

"Let's all get some rest." He said "We can discuss everything else later. You got everything you need?" He looked at Morelli.

Joe took the forms Lula and I had filled out and looked them over, then he nodded.

"For now, yes. These and the tapes should satisfy the officials. We have enough to put Torlione under surveillance."

We all stood and got ready to leave. Ranger came over to me.

"I'll come by later." He said "I'm sure you have more questions."

He knew me too well. I needed a lot more, and none of the guys had opened up in this, somewhat public, forum.

"I'm not going anywhere for a while. You know where to find me." I said.

"Right on both accounts." Joe said "And if you do decide to go anywhere, you're not going alone."

I rolled my eyes. Once again, I was going to be body-guarded. It wasn't a new situation for me. Since I'd become a bounty hunter, I'd attracted more than my share of crazy stalkers who for one reason or another, had considered the world a better place without me in it.

But both Ranger and Morelli seemed surprised when I didn't protest. In the past, I'd usually fought them tooth and nail. I definitely saw the need for protection this time. Torlione had scared me. The look in his eyes had been totally cold.

No doubt Tank was on Lula duty, combining work and pleasure.

"See you later then." I said and hugged Ranger quickly. He didn't hug me back, but he did smile a little.

I gave Lester and Hal a little finger wave and took Joe's arm.

All in all, the meeting hadn't been as bad as I'd feared. But it had still been a surreal experience. I'd never had a restaurant meal with Joe and Ranger, not to mention Lula, Tank and assorted other merry men. Still, in light of the past 24 hours, it wasn't the worst experience.

Now I just wanted to get home and hit the sheets with Morelli. I couldn't wait to cuddle up to him.

"You should call your Mom, she's probably left a few messages by now." Joe said when we were alone in his car on the way home.

"And Connie. But they'll all have to wait until after."

"After what?"  
I looked at him through lowered lashes and licked my lips. Morelli's eyes grew dark, but he shook his head lightly.

"Sorry Cupcake, that will have to wait. I'm due back at the station to go over everything with Cilinski." He reached over and stroked my hair. I sighed disappointed.

"You are exhausted. You need some rest!" I protested.

Joe smiled "Somehow I don't think you had rest in mind."

"Sure, afterwads." I admitted.

"Rain check? I promise I'll leave as soon as possible, then we'll order in and kick off our shoes. We have so much more to talk about."

He did some magic with his fingers on the back of my neck and I almost purred. I knew he was as anxious as I was to get a break in this case, and he was needed for the legwork.

"So who will be on Steph duty?" I asked.

Joe turned into Slater and pointed ahead. A black SUV was parked in front of our house.

He parked behind it and we got out. I tapped on the tinted windows of the Rangeman car and the door opened. It was Bobby, giving me a wide grin.

"Hi Stephanie. Hector and I will be your shadow for today. Hope you don't mind."

I laughed. My track record with merry men shadows wasn't all that great, Bobby definitely had a point.

"I'm honored." I said theatrically and bowed.

We left them in front of the house, greeted Bob and Rex and headed upstairs. Joe made sure I was tucked in nicely before he kissed me goodbye.

"I meant it. I'll be as quick as possible and then I'll make up for lost time."

He kissed me again to give me a taste of things to come. No doubt in my mind he'd make it worth the wait.

I'd been tired earlier, now I couldn't sleep. I sighed. Might as well get the inevitable out of the way and call my mom, tell her I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth.

Then I'd have another beer and get a plan. Am I a determined woman or what?


	13. Chapter 13

Revised chapter!

Upon re-reading, I didn't like the way it was going, so I re-wrote the end. I hope for the better.

Let me know what you think.

Thank you so much for your kind reviews, I appreciate every one of them!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: R

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun. I'm trying to convince Ranger to stay though…

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 13

I called my mom and played the good daughter, telling her how sorry I was I hadn't made it over for dinner, that work had been crazy. She of course went over how if I had a real job, I wouldn't have to work weekends. I didn't tell her how in a real job, I probably wouldn't be kidnapped and held at gunpoint either. I declined her dinner invitation, telling her how Joe and I had just eaten and by the time I hung up, she'd told me she'd have pineapple upside down cake next Saturday. All was well.

Afterwards, I called Connie to give her the good news and she was excited. Then she told me how the FTA's had been piling up the past couple days because neither I nor Ranger had been around. I told her I'd be around first thing Monday morning to take a look.

With the calls out of the way, I went over to Rex's cage to tell him about the events of the past days. He was listening, but he quickly lost interest. Hamsters don't have a long attention span. I dropped a carrot and a few cheerios in his food dish. He gathered everything into his cheek and disappeared into his soup can. I could tell he'd been worried sick about me; he just didn't want to show it.

Bob was standing next to me, hoping it was his dinner time, too. I hugged him and told him what a good boy he was. He was happy to hear it, but was still hoping for food, so I gave him a few Cheerios, too. Bob ate everything.

Next, I cracked open a beer for myself and took the cordless phone with me to the living room. I wanted to call Ranger, but he probably had gone straight to sleep. How much time was enough rest for Batman?

Maybe I could call Morelli? No, that would seem like the needy girlfriend I didn't want to be.

Lula was out, too, and so was Tank. I was sure Lula would never forgive me if I interrupted now. I sighed.

I looked at my watch. We'd left the restaurant about an hour ago; probably Hal, Lester, and Ranger were just now ending their debriefing, or whatever they called it, and were heading for the showers and beds. Darn. I wished I could sleep.

I didn't need to ask Bobby and Hector what their orders were; I knew they were outside to keep me inside. And I didn't want to be out there by myself anyway, I wasn't stupid. But sitting on my hands wouldn't help either.

"It's not a big deal," I told Bob "Probably Morelli will be back in no time. He and I can then think about what to do next."

Bob looked at me, not understanding why I didn't sleep if I didn't have anything better to do.

I downed my beer, hoping it would give me enough of a buzz to get tired again. But because I'd eaten so much before, I didn't feel anything. Instead, I was quickly getting myself frustrated.

I turned on my laptop, deciding to do some research on Torlione; it was the only thing I could think of.

An hour later, I was feeling sick to my stomach from reading what I'd found. Frank Torlione had never been convicted of any crime, but he was a suspect in several unsolved murders, the IRS had his number, and the FBI was investigating him for everything from trafficking to pimping. He'd been busy. But what were our chances of getting anything to stick on him, if law enforcement had been trying for years?

I should let the experts handle it and keep my nose out of it, that would be the intelligent thing to do. Trouble was, the intelligent thing was rarely what I did. Just the thought of sitting back and let others get Torlione got me in a state. Now I was arguing with myself!

Fuck it, I decided, if I couldn't sleep, neither could Ranger.

"Yo." Ranger answered after the first ring. He didn't sound sleepy.

"Did I wake you? I can't sleep." I could almost feel Ranger smiling on the other end.

"I didn't think sleeping is what you and Morelli where up to when you left." I rolled my eyes.

"I need to talk to you."

"I've offered my help before, you never took it." Ranger said, laughing softly. He loved to take shots at my sex life. But he did seem in a good enough mood, not like I'd disturbed something. Like sleep.

"No, I mean about the case."

"Give it a rest, Babe. You've done enough. You gave the cops the lead they've been waiting for."

"Has it ever worked when you told me to stay out?"

Now Ranger was sighing. I liked it better when I was amusing him; he was more likely to listen to me then. I didn't want to be annoying him.

"No." He said.

"What makes you think this time would be different?"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. You are still at home, right?"

I was flattered Ranger actually thought it was possible I could outsmart Bobby and Hector.

"Of course I am."

He disconnected.

I mentally cracked my knuckles. If I wanted to convince Ranger he'd need me on the case, I'd have to have a good argument. I'd saved my search on Torlione, but most likely, it wasn't anything Ranger hadn't seen before.

I had just one ace up my sleeve, but it meant going behind Morelli's back. I'd have to lie to him and come up with a credible cover story. And even then, it would only work if Ranger agreed.

I needed to change into something Ranger would like more, it couldn't hurt. It couldn't be something too sexy, he'd see right through that. I ran upstairs and took the world's quickest shower, dried off and put on a tank top and jeans. I topped it off with a white cotton shirt, but stayed barefoot. Mascara was my only makeup, and I left my hair wet but tamed with leave-in conditioner. I was going for the 'Oh darn, I didn't have enough time to get dry and dressed' look.

Okay, it was bad of me to be playing the attraction angle, but a girl's gotta do with what she has.

It wasn't like I could threaten Ranger into working with me.

I was checking myself out in the mirror when I heard a car pull up out front. I took a deep breath and told myself I could do this and went downstairs to open the door.

I opened the door just as Ranger was climbing the front steps. He half-turned and waved to Bobby and Hector driving by. Then he took in my appearance and I thought I could see a flicker in his eye, but maybe that was my imagination.

"Are you the new shift?" I asked, smiling.

"No need for the troops to be around when the general is on watch." Ranger said and winked.

He looked a lot fresher than earlier, although he couldn't have had any sleep. He was wearing a black, skin-tight long-sleeved t-shirt, black cargo pants and matching boots. And along with the wink, he was enough to make me check my mouth for drool.

I stepped aside to let him enter before I closed and locked the door. I never saw the sense in locking front doors since everybody and their brother knew how to pick my locks, but I wanted Ranger to see how responsible I could act.

"I did some research on Torlione." I said, following Ranger into the living room.

"Babe." Ranger said.

Not enough syllables to determine whether he thought that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Do you want a beer?" I knew I did.

Ranger shook his head.

"Coffee, herbal tea?"

Ranger smiled "You don't have any herbal tea. But coffee would be nice."

Probably Ranger drank coffee three times a year, but since he'd been right about the herbal tea, I went into the kitchen and got the coffee started without comment.

I wiped down the counters and emptied the dishwasher while I was waiting for the coffee to drip through, because I'd need something in my hands before I faced Ranger.

My beer in one hand, his cup in the other, I returned to the living room. Ranger was sitting on the couch, my laptop on his knees.

"Good work." He said as he took the cup from me.

"Torlione's been busy." I said as I plopped down on the couch next to Ranger. I'd feel less nervous in the chair a few feet away from him, but I had a kind of seduction to accomplish.

Ranger was still studying the results of my search.

Right, I thought, now or never.

"I want to do it." I said and took a pull from my beer.

Ranger looked up at me "Do what?"  
I had a feeling he knew exactly what I'd meant, but he needed me to confirm it.

"I want to accept Torlione's offer and work for him. Undercover, obviously."

"No." Ranger said.

"Why not?" I challenged.

"Too dangerous. Morelli will never let you do it."

Had I heard that right? As if it didn't matter what I thought or could do, it all hinged on someone else's permission? When had I checked my ability to decide for myself at the door?

"Morelli is not my boss or my father. He can't tell me what to do. Also, he's not here." I said with a calm I didn't feel.

Ranger held my stare but didn't say anything. And it was impossible to read his expression.

"I won't let you do it either, Babe."

Pretty much what I'd expected. I took a deep breath. I had gone through this in my mind before and hoped it would play out the same way in reality.

"Ranger, I appreciate what you've done for me and Lula. And yes, one of our goals was to get Lula back, and we've accomplished that. But the big bad is still out there, probably eyeing his next victim as we speak."

"That's not your concern."

I continued as if I hadn't heard him "I'm going to do this. I have an in into Torlione's organization, and I'm going to take it. I would rather do it with your help and support, but if I have to do it alone, so be it."

That was a big fib, because I'd pee my pants if I had to do it alone. I wasn't even sure I could do it with Ranger!

He continued to stare for a moment, and then a smile played around his lips.

"And here I thought you were dressing up because you liked me!"

"What are you talking about?"

He tucked a finger under the strap of my tank top and slowly followed it to the front.

"I thought it looked kind of sexy for at-home Steph, but I wasn't going to complain…"

Shit! He called my bluff.

I half-heartedly slapped at his hand "I don't know what you're talking about. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Where's Morelli?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Didn't Bobby tell you?"

"Bobby will only call in if there is any unexpected action or he needs backup." Ranger lowered his eyes to his hand, still on the front of my tank top.

It felt like his fingers were burning my skin where he touched me. I knew Ranger was testing me, looking forward to my reaction.

I should have known I wouldn't be able to fool him. I wasn't going to admit to my mischievous plan, but I wasn't going to continue it further either. If I started flirting with Ranger, he'd win.

"Joe had to go back to work. He is helping Cilinski follow up on the new leads."

Ranger sat back and took a sip from his coffee.

"Then you should wait here and discuss your idea with him."

I rolled my eyes. Where was the Ranger that jumped at every opportunity to challenge Morelli?

"I brought my idea to you." I said "I'm asking you for help."

He was smiling again. "I'm flattered."

I decided to tell him what I had thought up so far as a last resort.

"First, we need to track Torlione, follow him. Find out where he hangs, clearly it's not the Maison." I took a long pull from my beer for courage. "Then we're going to give another performance of pimp Ranger and hooker Stephanie."

Ranger opened his mouth, but I put my hand up in the universal 'stop' gesture.

"Only this time, before there are any customers, I'm going to have it publicly out with you. You leave in a huff and I'll be by myself."

Ranger shook his head. "Not gonna happen, Babe."

I exhaled frustrated.

"I'll be wired! I'll have a panic button! I'll even carry a gun!"

"A lot of good that did you last time."

"I didn't have a gun!"

Ranger raised an eyebrow and looked at me. I knew what he was thinking. I hated guns, only used them when absolutely necessary.

But dammit, my plan was good! If I could somehow be on the inside, I could gather all the evidence necessary to make something stick and get Torlione behind bars, where he belonged!

"And what would you tell Morelli?"

"What do you care?" I asked, a little too shrill. I jumped up. "Since you're not going to help me without his permission anyway!"

Truth was, I hadn't thought of anything good to tell Joe yet. And that had me frustrated. But Ranger's unwillingness to see the brilliance of my plan angered me.

I was halfway into the kitchen when he spun me around. I hadn't even heard him approach.

"This has nothing to do with Morelli!" Ranger said, holding on to my shoulders, his expression once again unreadable.

"I am the one who thinks it's too dangerous."

I struggled against his grip, but he didn't let me go. I had one pathetic attempt left and I'd been hoping it wouldn't come to it.

"Fine!" I spat out "Like I said, I will do it, with or without you. I was hoping it would be with you, but I'll do it alone."

Ranger sighed, and his hands left my shoulders.

"Babe."

I grabbed my purse and huffed towards the door.

"I trust you can see yourself out!"

I wasn't even sure where I was going to go, it just seemed like a good time for a dramatic exit.

There was no plan without Ranger, and probably a good number of merry men on top of that. I wasn't naïve enough to believe I could do it on my own. Maybe I just needed time to think of more good arguments to persuade Ranger.

My dramatic exit was stopped short by the locked door. By the time I had the dead bolt thrown back; Ranger had his hand on the door, easily reaching over my shoulder.

"Let me go." I said in what I hoped was a dangerous tone.

"Stephanie, calm down. Let's go back to the living room and talk things over. You're not driving with so much beer in you."

'Stephanie', not 'Babe'. That couldn't be a good thing. And he was right, even though I didn't feel drunk, I'd had way too much to drink to drive. But I didn't want him to be right, and who said anything about driving?

"You need to leave now." I said, not quite sure what had caused it. I still hadn't turned around to face him. It bugged me to no end that he had shot down my idea. Sure, it was a crazy plan, but I felt it deserved at least consideration.

I slowly turned around. Since Ranger didn't budge, we were almost face to face now.

"Don't ever tempt me unless you're willing to go through with it." Ranger said, and we both knew he wasn't talking about my ingenious idea. He'd called my bluff and reminded me that I shouldn't play with fire.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time." I admitted.

He smiled. "Not in HIS house."

Of course he was right. I hadn't planned to actually do anything, I thought I could just be a siren and he'd do whatever I'd want. No clue where that idea had come from, I chose to blame it on lack of sleep.

"I have to go." Ranger said, but didn't move "Promise me you'll stay put until I get back?"

I nodded. "If you promise to think about my idea some more."

"I have a few ideas of my own." He said and kissed my hair. I felt the heat creep into my cheeks as my mind was giving me images for his ideas.

I finally pushed myself away from the door a little.

"I promise if you promise!"

He nodded almost imperceptibly. "Okay."

With that, he pushed me away from the door gently and left.

I collapsed against the door when it had closed behind him and pulled my knees up to my chin.

"Ohgodohgodohgod." Was all I could mutter.

How exactly had I envisioned it to turn out? That Ranger would look but not touch, that he'd agree to my plan because he wanted to sleep with me?

"What was I thinking??" I said out loud and Bob came out of the living room to see what the problem was.

"I'm a slut." I told him and he sniffed at my face, probably trying to find out if I was on the floor because I was eating. Not finding any food, he licked my face once and then returned to his blanket on the living room floor.

I heaved myself up and followed him, cleaning up my beer bottle and Ranger's cup. When I'd rinsed the cup and put it in the dishwasher, I went upstairs to take a bath. Apart from cleaning up, I had some serious thinking to do.

True, nothing had happened per se, but my Catholic conscience wouldn't let that slide. Willing to do something is almost as bad as doing it. Maybe playing hooker twice had gone to my head.

If Joe'd come home at any time while Ranger was there, the look of guilt on my face would have given me away.

Thank God Ranger knew me too well to fall for the cheap scheme that it was.

I was just too convinced that my plan would work, I decided. I'd do anything to put it into action.

As if the outcome always justified the means, when had I started believing that?

If I started using sex to get what I want, I'd be as bad as Joyce Barnard, my arch enemy since first grade. I'd found her on my dining room table with my husband of less than a year, who was my ex husband now. She would boink a donkey if that would help her get what she wants.

I shuddered in disgust.

I'd need to Clorox my brain.

And then I'd have to come up with good arguments that could hold their own. And next time I saw Ranger, I was going to wear as many clothes as possible and keep my distance as usual.


	14. Chapter 14

I appreciate your feedback, thank you so much for sticking with me!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: R

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun. I might be there for Joe if he needs me though.

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 14

"Steph??" I heard Joe yell from downstairs when I was still soaking in the tub and trying to come up with a solution to my latest dilemma.

Shit. So much for my hope to procrastinate.

"Upstairs!" I yelled back. Damn.

He opened the bathroom door and stuck his head in. "Couldn't sleep?"

I shook my head. 'I couldn't sleep so I tried to seduce Ranger and it backfired'. That's what I should have said.

"Any progress?" I asked.

Joe came in and closed the door behind him. He looked tired.

"Nothing so far."  
"I started researching Torlione," I said. "Seems like you guys have been after him for a while."

Joe nodded "Never successfully though. I went through a lot of the old stuff from New York today." He signed and kneeled down in front of the tub and played with the water.

"I have an idea." I said, combing my fingers through his hair. "But you have to hear me out before you decide."

My eyes were focusing on my hands in his hair, I couldn't meet his gaze. He nodded.

"Shoot. I'm all out of ideas and I need some fresh ones."

Ranger had been right; I needed to at least give Morelli a chance to give me his input on my plan.

I took a deep breath.

"I have thought about it, and I want to accept Torlione's offer and work for him."

I half-expected Joe to scream 'NO', but he surprised me by keeping quiet.

"It's the only true lead we have, and it would give us the inside information we need. Maybe the FBI would want to come on board and work with you guys and you could protect me. We could all focus our attention on researching the guy beforehand, finding out what he does when. Until we know all his whereabouts at any time. All his hiding places."

I allowed for another pause, Joe was still listening.

"Ranger would be my pimp again, I'm sure the merry men would volunteer to be the johns. I'd be the hooker fed up with her pimp. What do you think?"

Joe blew out some air and shook his head slightly.

"I'm surprised you're telling me about it, Cupcake. You must have a pretty good idea what my answer would be."

I bit my lower lip. The men in my life knew me far too well, that was for sure.

"I wanted to share it with you first."

Joe let a drop of water fall from his index finger on to my arm, and then he traced the drop.

"I think it's a terrific idea. I just don't think it should be you who's playing the hooker. It's too dangerous."

Of course it was dangerous. How could working undercover with a godfather-type guy not be?

"I would wear a wire, and a panic button. And I could carry my gun. And we don't have anyone else with a job offer." I realized I'd tried a similar approach with Ranger.

"How about I talk it over with Cilinski? Hear what he has to say?"  
Wow, I was impressed. Joe was seriously considering my suggestion. More than Ranger had.

And now I felt even guiltier for what I'd done with Ranger.

"Okay." I said, focusing on the sponge in my hand.

"Do you need help here? I'm a terrific sponge-bather, you know."

I wasn't done thinking yet.

"No, I'm okay. Why don't you wait for me outside? I'll be out in a minute."

Joe frowned, but got up without argument. He dried his hands and walked out.

I finished up in the tub, dried off and put a terry robe on. Instead of blow drying, I just tied my hair back in a pony tail. Then I straightened my shoulders and went to face Joe, hoping to convince him what a great idea I'd come up with.

Joe looked like he'd indeed tried to wait for me. He was lying fully dressed on the covers, fast asleep.

The lines around his eyes were barely visible, he was relaxed. Even the scar through his eyebrow always looked less angry when he was asleep.

I sat down next to him on the bed and watched him. His hair was longer than usual. Even right after he got it cut it looked like he'd need a cut, but he hadn't had it clipped for weeks now. It curled around his ears and fell into his face. I brushed a lock from his forehead. He was just incredibly handsome.

And he was everything a good girl from the Burg could ever want. But at times, I couldn't decide if he was what I would ever want. I loved him. And I knew he loved me.

My problem was that I loved Ranger, too. I was in love with two men and I couldn't stay away from either one of them. And the thought of losing Joe hurt as much as the thought of never having Ranger.

I decided to let him sleep for now. He hadn't had any rest since the night before last; it could wait, a few hours wouldn't matter now.

I curled up next to Joe and put my head on his chest. Immediately he put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.

I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but Joe's steady heartbeat lulled me in. I woke up when Joe was trying to move me off of him as he was getting up.

It was dark in the bedroom.

"Mmmh?"

"Shhh, Cupcake, I'm just getting undressed. I'll be right back."

The next time I woke up, the sun had just started to rise. I got up, put on sweats and a t-shirt and went downstairs to get coffee started.

And I had decided not to tell Joe about what had happened, but to apologize to Ranger. With that weight off my shoulder, I was ready to concentrate on the task of finding Torlione.

By the time I got the paper and filled my cup with coffee, I heard the shower going upstairs. Bob had had his morning tinkle in the backyard and was anxiously awaiting breakfast. I fed him and dropped a couple grapes in Rex's food dish before I poured frosted flakes for myself and sat down at the table. Rex never even moved in his soup can. Running all night must be exhausting.

Joe came down minutes later, dressed in black jeans and a grey t-shirt, his hair still damp from the shower. He kissed me on the cheek on his way to the coffee machine.

"What are you up to today?" He asked as he sat down next to me.

"I'll stop by the office, Connie has a few skips for me."  
"You're not gonna try to lose the Rangemen, are you?"

"Who, me?" I asked innocently.

"Steph." He put down his cup and waited for me to look at him.

"Just kidding." I reassured him. "I'll feel a lot safer with them around. Honest."

"I wish I could stay myself." Joe said "I'll try to take half the day off. But I have to go in."

"I'll be fine. It's more important that you get a break in this case."

I was confident the merry men could protect me just as well as Joe, if not better. They didn't have to play by the rules the way a cop had to. I didn't want him to be concerned, but I knew he'd worry. He worried about me anyway, it was just worse now.

Joe left earlier than usual, at 8:00, after I'd promised him I'd be good and assured him again that I was okay with him going to work.

After I'd cleaned up the kitchen, I took a shower, did the hair and makeup thing and got dressed in a blue long-sleeved turtleneck and jeans, my CAT boots completed the outfit. A look in the mirror confirmed I looked about as unsexy as possible. Good.

I got to the office just as Connie arrived. That had never happened.

"Everything alright?" She asked.

I smiled. "Good morning. Just an early start today. Why don't you make us some coffee, I'll get the donuts?"

No day can be all bad when it starts with donuts. That's my philosophy. I gave the RangeMan SUV that parked a few cars behind me a finger wave. It was impossible to tell who was in it, due to the tinted windows, but I was sure I would find out later.

Connie and I were enjoying breakfast, or in my case second breakfast, when Lula trotted in.

"Girlfriends!" She exclaimed and Connie got up to hug her. I couldn't recall that ever happening before. Lula was wearing a tight purple tank top and matching spandex workout pants. Any other girl would have looked like she was wearing clothes too tight for her, Lula looked just right. Like Lula. "Lula's back in town!" I screamed and joined the hug.

Now Lula had to go through the whole story again for Connie. In this version, Tank was somehow the hero, and Morelli had just helped. I thought it was cute and wasn't about to set the record straight.

I leafed through the files on Connie's desk. Ranger wouldn't take any skips that were worth less than $50.000, or $5000 to him. My standards were a lot lower. The higher the bond, the crazier the FTA in my opinion.

I picked a few from the pile and stuck the paperwork into my shoulder bag.

"So, you still under protection?" Lula asked when she'd finished her story and selected a donut.

"Just like you." I confirmed. We did a high five, although I wasn't sure why.

Connie looked at the stack of files still on her desk "Is that all you're going to take?"

"Anything pressing you want me to take on?" I turned back to her. I heard the door open behind me and didn't have to turn around to learn who it was. Connie's eyes widened and she looked ready to drool: My money was on Ranger.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, that was another indicator.

Moments later, his hand settled on the hairs as he leaned over me to drop a body receipt on Connie's desk.

"Pedro Ramirez." He said. "Sorry I didn't drop the receipt off earlier. Send the check to RangeMan as usual."

"Are you, um, going to take any new FTAs?" Connie asked. Her voice was a little higher than usual; as if she thought she was asking something extraordinary.

Ranger cut his eyes to me.

"I'll be Steph's shadow for today, so we'll be working on them together. Lemme have a look."

He took the files off the desk and walked over to the couch were Lula sat.

"That was you outside?" I asked. It wasn't like Ranger not to make his presence known in front of the office. He shook his head.  
"That's Tank. He's Lula's shadow."

Lula's grin got wider as she nodded. "He'll be watching me closely all day." Her tone told me that watching was not all he was going to do. I had a feeling Lula wouldn't be doing much filing today.

It was nice to be in on the plan. Ranger was on Steph-duty, Tank was on Lula-duty. Ranger gathered up the files after looking through them. "You ready?"

"Sure."

Connie looked like she was going to fan herself as Ranger left. I gave her a finger wave and took one last donut before I followed Ranger. He was standing on the sidewalk, looking at my car.

His Bronco was parked behind my Mini. "We'll take my car." Ranger said and beeped the Bronco open. I didn't protest. The image of Ranger in a Mini didn't feel right.

I climbed in on the passenger side and Ranger put the stack of files on my lap.

I couldn't sense any difference in his behavior; he was all business as usual. So maybe I didn't need to apologize? Maybe I'd bring up the topic over lunch.

Ranger started the engine and looked over at me.

"Where's the first address?"  
Right, we were working here. I snapped out of my thoughts and flipped open the first file at random. "511 Liberty Street," I read off the first page "Bernie Paulson. Spousal abuse, my favorite." I was hoping there would be reason for Ranger to use some force. I had no pity for wife beaters.

Ranger took off and we rode over to Liberty in silence. I knew the way, but I didn't know much about the neighborhood. When on a take-down with Ranger, I never had to worry about anything. Ranger would be armed, and Ranger could handle things if the skip got rough.

Liberty is a long street, going from a mix of industrial and commercial to all residential, with different lot sizes. 511 was a beige-painted, two-story row house in the middle of a block in a middle-class row house neighborhood.

Ranger parked and I had my hand on the door handle. He held me back by my forearm.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Like what?"

Ranger purposefully took his gun out of its holster and removed the safety. I shrugged.

"I'd say one gun is enough for both of us."

"Babe."

I was glad we were back to our everyday teasing. Truth was, I made it a point not to have my gun on me when I was with Ranger, because this game never got old.

I winked at him and climbed out of the car, taking my cuffs and pepper spray out of my bag as I walked.

A woman answered the door on my second knock, and already I could tell we had the right house. Something I'd learned as a bounty hunter, wives of wife beaters always had an air of nothingness about them, like they've been trying to melt into the wall for years.

"Mrs. Paulson? I'm Stephanie Plum. I represent Vincent Plum Bail Bonds." I went through my spiel. Mrs. Paulson opened the door wider for us and led us upstairs to the bedroom where Bernie was still sleeping the previous night off. He kind of woke up when I slapped the cuffs on him and he complained when Ranger dragged him down the stairs, but overall, it was one of the smoothest apprehensions ever.

An hour after we'd left the office; we had our body receipt and were heading towards Martha Palutzki's house just outside the Burg. She had attacked an officer that had tried to give her a parking ticket, no biggie. Most cops wouldn't even press charges for that, but probably Martha had gotten a little too far out of line.

We picked her up walking her dog, and she all but kissed Ranger's feet when she learned he would be driving her downtown to the pokey. I rolled my eyes. No FTA ever drooled at the sight of me.

By noon, we had successfully apprehended four skips and had dropped their sorry butts back into the system. I felt majorly accomplished.

"Lunch?" I asked Ranger, and that earned me a smile.

"Good to have you back, Babe."

He started the engine and left the TPD's parking lot.

"Pino's?" He asked.

I shook my head no. "Let's do something different. Surprise me."

He was still smiling, but didn't say anything before slipping into his zone.

We pulled into the parking lot of a small roadside diner ten minutes later, and I took the remaining files with me inside. Maybe after we went over them, I could bring up the subject about our 'real' case once again.

'Daisy's' was a small place; no more than ten tables decked in plastic red-and-white table cloths were strewn across the room, a counter in the back gave the guests a view of the kitchen. About half of the tables were occupied. A sign by the door announced guests were to seat themselves.

After we'd ordered our food, I picked up the FTA files and leafed through them.

"Anything interesting?" Ranger asked, taking a sip from his water.

"Nobody I know." I said.

"Well, I happen to think even people you don't know can be interesting." Ranger said.

I looked up. Ranger making a joke was a rare occurrence, but when it did happen, he was really funny. I stuck my tongue out at him, feeling very mature. Another smile from Ranger. I couldn't remember him smiling this much recently. Maybe I should make an ass out of myself more often.

Our food arrived and I took my time getting all the condiments right on my burger. Ranger had gone with the healthiest sandwich he could find on the menu, of course.

"So," I said after a while, picking at my fries.

Ranger looked up from his plate. "Yes?"

"I, um, talked to Morelli about my idea yesterday."

"You made him your second choice?" He added a wink to the smile.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, at least he said he'd think about it and talk it over with Cilinski." I stuck my tongue out at him again.

The smile disappeared and Ranger grew serious. I must have missed the mark with my comment.

"Babe, I never said I wouldn't think about it. And I didn't reject it because I didn't take it seriously."

"Yeah, I know. But…" I sighed. Ranger reached across the table and put a finger under my chin to make me look into his eyes again.

"It's too dangerous. He's outsmarted us once, we need a lot more preparation before we can try again. I don't want to risk losing you."

At this point, I should have nodded and agreed, or something along those lines. I knew what Ranger was saying and I knew it was true. But ever since I can remember, I had this rebel streak in me that tends to come out at inappropriate times. It made me jump off the garage roof when I was ten, to see if I could fly. It made me frown at Ranger now.

"You don't think I can do it."

He put his hand on mine on the table. "I don't think anybody could do it without risking their life."

I pulled my hand away. I had no clue why it infuriated me that Ranger was speaking out loud what I knew to be the truth. I was just disappointed that he didn't think I could do it.

"Don't patronize me. I bet you wouldn't think twice about letting Jeanne Ellen do it!"

Whoa. Where'd that come from? Jeanne Ellen hadn't been on my mind in years! She was a bounty hunter for another bonds office, and she was pretty much the female equivalent of Ranger. Right down how hot and in-charge she looked. And there were rumors the two of them knew each other pretty well, no one had ever confirmed or denied the rumors.

"Jeanne Ellen?" Ranger asked, raising an eyebrow, "What does she have to do with anything?"

I should have said 'Nothing. Except it bugs me that I don't know your history with her and you think she's Wonder Woman. Probably I'm jealous. Seemed like a good idea to bring her up.' That would have been the truth. I usually knew exactly what I wanted to say, but pride forbade it. If I was honest with myself, I'd have to admit that I wanted Ranger to think of me with the same professional admiration he had for Jeanne Ellen, that I was capable of accomplishing anything I set my mind to.

I threw up my hands, following the Burg procedure for a staged fight. Burg girls learn how to give boys a hard time before they learn how to write.

"I need to go now." And I got up, avoiding Ranger's hand as he tried to hold on to my arm.

"Babe."

Looking back, I think it was admirable that Ranger kept so calm, a lesser man would have slapped me like they did in the old movies. I was making a big thing out of nothing, and I knew it.

He caught up with me when I'd just stepped outside. It's hard to make a theatrical exit when you don't have a car. And the guy you're trying to run away from is supposed to follow you all day.

Ranger got a hold of my arm this time and pulled me into an alley that ran the side of the diner.

"You mind telling me what just happened?" He asked, his eyes boring into mine, his face expressionless. Eyes cold, his hand still on my arm. "What is this really about?"

The only thing worse than acting like a brat is being called upon it. What could I say? That I had given Ranger a hard time because the case overwhelmed me, that I would rather risk my life than admit there was nothing I could do to help? That was a lot more sharing of feelings than I ever did, I would hardly dare to even think those feelings!

When I tried to lower my eyes, Ranger put his hand under my chin and lifted it up.

"Talk to me," He said softly.

"Just once, I'd like you to believe in me." I pressed out. I was surprising myself by admitting the truth. If Ranger laughed right now, I'd beat him to death with a shovel.

His eyes softened. He let go of my arm and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him.

"I believe in you, Babe. More than I want to. But just because I believe in you doesn't mean I don't fear for your life."

He was stroking my hair as he talked, my head was against his chest and I could hear his heart beating.

I didn't know if it was emotional exhaustion or just the unusual sharing of feelings, but I felt the tears well up in my eyes, and I was unable to stop them. So they fell and I sniffled. Ranger held me tighter. I was afraid big messy sobs would be next.

Ranger loosened his hug and pulled away so he could look at me.

"Babe." He said again. And then he kissed me. And I let him. At first, it was just his lips on mine, and the heat spreading in my stomach. Then his tongue caressed my lips and tiny sparks exploded behind my closed eyelids. His hands came up on either side of my face, his thumbs wiping away the tears. When our tongues met, a bolt of lightning went from my mouth straight to my doodah.

And at no point was I tempted to push him away, to even tell him to stop. After all the beating I had given myself the day before.

Ranger let his hands wander down from my face, over my neck. His thumbs were now tracing the outline of my collarbone through my shirt. I was pressed flush against him, my hands on his broad back.

I moaned into his mouth when he pushed his knee between my legs. His right hand crept under my shirt and I shivered when I felt the heat of his skin on my stomach. The kiss grew more intense, demanding, and I could feel Ranger's desire pressing against my hip.

I pulled my head away reluctantly, not moving the rest of my body.

"We're in the middle of the street." I whispered out of breath.

Ranger lowered his head to plant kisses from my ear down my neck, and I could feel him smile against my skin. His hand traveled up to my bra, and when it brushed over my nipple, I gasped and pressed my lower body against Ranger.

A car door slamming brought us both back into reality. We stood wrapped around each other, my head on Ranger's chest, his head on my shoulder, for the longest time.

"I believe in you." Ranger finally said, not moving.

All I believed was that I was slowly losing my mind. I didn't ever want to leave this alley, I felt safe and protected. And at the moment, nothing in the real world mattered. I wanted to hold on to Ranger and feel him hold on to me.

Screw Torlione. Let the cops figure it out.

'What about Joe?' A nagging voice spoke up in my head 'What are you doing hurting him like this? For that matter, what are you doing???' the voice was right. So I did what any proper burg girl would do, I told it to shut the fuck up.


	15. Chapter 15

I appreciate your feedback, thank you so much for sticking with me! I welcome all reviews and suggestions, please keep them coming. I'm such a review addict…

A big THANK YOU to XJerseyGirl for her help with this chapter. I owe you!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: RF

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun. I might be there for Joe if he needs me though.

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 15

I honestly don't know how long we stood like that, embraced in the narrow alley between a diner and a Laundromat, just off Route 1. And I didn't know why I was holding on to Ranger like a drowning woman. It was very unlike me to publicly break down; I was usually the queen of denial and crying in the shower.

Finally I sighed and fished a tissue out of my pocket to wipe my eyes. Ranger took a step back, but didn't break contact.

"Better?" He asked, concern in his eyes.

I nodded, putting my head back on his chest.

"What are we doing?"

I looked up but didn't know what to say. Well, I had words, but nothing appropriate. I bit my tongue before I made some stupid remark to cover my confusion and cleared my throat instead.

"If you can't convince them, confuse them." Ranger said and winked at me.

I punched his shoulder lightly, but I couldn't help matching his smile.

That's when my cell phone rang somewhere in my bag. I detangled myself from Ranger and dug into my purse to retrieve it. It was Joe. His timing was impeccable. I wasn't sure I could talk to him, but if I didn't answer, he'd probably worry.

I took a deep breath and pressed the button. "Hello?"

"It's me. How are you holding up?"

Just an innocent, concerned question. Suddenly, I could imagine Joe's face if he'd have stepped into the alley a minute before. I could clearly see the pain in his eyes.

"Steph?"  
"Sorry. I'm fine. Ranger and I already delivered four skips to your colleagues."

"And no problems?"

I sighed.

"No problems. But I'm exhausted." When in need to put something off, fib. Exhaustion can sound just like desperation.

"Get some rest then. The FTAs can wait."

He continued when I didn't say anything. "I called to tell you I may have to work later than I thought. Cilinski needs me to follow up on a tip in New York."

"Oh?" I didn't trust my voice to say more.

Ranger was standing two steps away from me, and he was following the conversation with his patented blank face. I just wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole. Maybe spit me back out in Hawaii.

"I'm sorry, Cupcake. I wouldn't go if it didn't sound really promising."

"It's okay, Joe. I'm well protected."

Ranger smiled at that and I sent him an angry glare. He chuckled and half-turned, as if to hide it.

"Let me talk to Ranger." Joe said and my heart skipped a beat. Had I said something without realizing it? Did Joe know without me saying anything?

I handed the phone over, unable to breathe.

"Yo…Tank is…he checks in every hour and RangeMan has…yeah…"

Oh! The case. Mental head slap. Joe was getting an update on the case from Ranger or letting him know about any new developments. I took deep breath to try and slow my heart rate down. I walked away from the alley towards the car.

By the time Ranger caught up with me I had more or less calmed down. I wasn't going to jump Ranger as soon as we got in the car.

"So?" I asked.

Ranger was still smiling. He unlocked the car, opened his door and turned to face me before he got it.

"Morelli wants you to stay with me tonight if he isn't back from New York."

Oh boy. Joe had no idea what he was asking. And he trusted me.

"If he's not back by tonight, I'm staying at my parents'," I said with a lot more confidence than I felt.

"Not safe," Ranger said. As if staying with him was safe!

"Let's just…" I was going to say '…continue skip tracing.', but I didn't have the files on me. I slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand. "I'll be right back."

I got out of the car without waiting for Ranger's response. The files were exactly where I had left them, on the table inside the diner. I waved them in the air when I returned to the car.

Maybe if we focused on work, I could put off thinking about what had just happened. I opened the first file and read the address aloud.

Ranger turned the key in the ignition but didn't take his eyes off me. I finally met his gaze and he shook his head slightly, smiling. Then he turned his attention to the road as he drove us over to Hamilton Township.

We spent the afternoon banging on skips' front doors, chasing them through back yards and dragging them into the police station. Once, I was left glaring after an FTA as he jumped a chain link fence and took off at warp speed. We didn't catch him. But overall, we did pretty well.

My hair had come loose out of the pony tail, the left knee on my jeans was torn, and I had skinned palms. Ranger didn't have any new scratches on him. Sometimes life wasn't fair.

It was almost five when we returned to the bonds office to drop our body receipts, nine in all. As far as Vinnie was concerned, it had been a very successful day.

I noticed Ranger had taken three files out of the pile, the really dangerous ones was my guess, and that was fine with me. I hated getting shot at, no matter how much the reward was.

Throughout the day, Ranger kept checking the rearview mirror for a tail. He'd been in contact with Tank almost every hour. He never left the car unarmed. I felt like I couldn't ask for a better body guard.

I had avoided all close contact with Ranger after lunch. I was stuck between having and needing and wanting. I knew what I had, but I didn't know if it was what I needed and I couldn't figure out what I wanted.

No way was I going to spend the night in the Bat Cave in this state.

Connie was impressed with the number of body receipts, and I was impressed when Ranger asked her to spit the rewards 50/50. I had mostly knocked on doors and introduced myself; Ranger had done all the hard work of dragging and driving.

I plopped down on the faux-leather couch in the office and took out my cell phone and called Joe.

When he didn't answer, I left him a message, remembering to tell him all was fine and I just wanted to hear his voice.

Since he was out of town, I'd only have to convince Ranger to go ahead with my little plan, but it didn't feel right to do it without Joe anymore. I had already told him about it and he had promised to think it over.

"I'm going to my parents' house for dinner," I announced. "You're welcome to join me."

I knew that was one sure way to have some time by myself, I didn't think Ranger was up for dinner at the Plum house. He'd dared once and it had been a lifetime experience. My family can be challenging.

"Pass," he said "I have some business to take care of. You can leave as soon as Bobby gets here."

Once again, he had seen right through me. He knew I was trying to avoid him, and just because I was scared of my reaction. Ranger wasn't going to force it.

He leaned down to me. "Call me if you need to talk," he said softly and kissed my cheek. I could see Connie fanning herself out of the corner of my eye. I nodded, but before I could say anything, Ranger had left.

I slumped down against the cushions and closed my eyes. How does one catch a homicidal, drug-dealing, pimping Italian if one's mind is preoccupied with two men already?

"Connie, do you know any palm readers?" I asked without opening my eyes.

"I don't believe in that crapola," Connie replied. "They only ever tell you what you want to hear so that you pay them. Why?"

"Because I'm too old for this shit and it's not fair to me or to them."

When Connie didn't answer I opened my eyes and found her frowning at me. She had the 'What are you talking about' look.

I got up and walked over to her desk. I couldn't believe I was going to confide in Connie. Usually I don't confide at all, I eat Tasty Kakes and hope the problem goes away. I don't share feelings.

So here I was, sitting down on the corner of Connie's desk, Vinnie's office door open wide enough to reveal he wasn't in, telling her about my dilemma.

I'd never had a serious talk with Connie. I'd known her for years, but we never spent any time together outside the office.

To her credit, she listened to my whole story without interruption.

"So, what do you think I should do?" I asked her when I had finished.

Connie's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "You're asking me for personal advice? You must be desperate!"

I threw my hands in the air. "I thought that part was pretty clear from my guts now spilled all over your desk."

"All I know is I'd like to have your problems," Connie said. "Having to choose between Officer Hottie and Batman. Oh, what a hardship," She rolled her eyes.

I sighed. If only it was that easy.

"I'm not talking about how hot they are," I explained "That's not the problem. The problem is I have feelings for both of them, and it's starting to become extremely complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"I love them both. Like, love-love, not lust, not a crush, love."

"Oh boy." A fair assessment indeed. And the reason for this unusual heart-to-heart in the first place.

"Yeah," I said, my head slumping to my chest.

"Well, it's not like I have any experience in that particular matter," Connie said "But it seems to me maybe neither of them is Mr. Right for you."

"How do you mean?" Actually, that same thought had occurred to me once or twice.

"I see how you can love them both, they're complete opposites."

"How…" I started, but Connie interrupted.

"Seems to me, you love certain things about both of them, but not one whole package. Joe is what Ranger isn't and vice-versa."

She looked at me, and I made a 'go on' motion with my hand. Where was she getting with this?

"Don't get me wrong, I think Ranger is hotness incarnate. But he wouldn't be my choice for a husband and father."

I nodded. And Ranger would be the first to agree as well, he'd told me as much on more than one occasion.

"And Morelli, well, he's safe and comfortable, but maybe not exciting enough for you."

I happened to think Morelli was plenty exciting, his sexual appetite matched mine.

"And I'm not talking about sex here, just to be clear." I blushed as Connie seemed to be reading my thoughts. Why it was anything to blush about, I couldn't tell. My sex life had never been a secret in this office.

"It sounds to me like you're looking for one man that can be both, safe and exciting."

I frowned. That wasn't exactly the advice I'd been looking for. I'd hoped Connie would pick one of the two and try to convince me of his virtues.

Connie threw her hands up. "Just my opinion. If you want my advice, take a break from both of them. Don't see them for a while and listen to your feelings then. You're too close to be objective."

I wondered why it had taken me so long to talk to Connie. She had listened to me and she had shared her take on it and had given me advice like a true girlfriend.

"Well, thanks for listening," I said, sliding off her desk. "Call my cell if you need me." And then I hugged her spontaneously. She hugged me back after a moment's hesitation, I wasn't known as a hugger. I just appreciated having someone listen to me so much.

"Aren't you supposed to wait for your body guard?" She asked when I released her.

I grabbed my bag off the floor and then turned to face her. "There was no trouble, not even a sighting all day. Tell Bobby where I am when he gets here."

I told myself I couldn't wait for Bobby because then I'd be late for dinner. Dinner at my parents' house was served at six o'clock, and if you showed up minutes too late, you were responsible for ruining it.

But the truth was, I had to move, I couldn't sit still any more.

Connie shrugged and agreed to relay the message. "Think about it." She said before I had reached the door and I turned to look at her. "I will." After this mess was over, for sure.

My cell phone rang when I parked in front of my parents' house.

"Yo," I said when I flipped it open; I knew it was Ranger from the readout.

"I thought I was pretty clear when I told you to wait for Bobby."

"I am. I'm waiting for Bobby at my parents' house."

Ranger disconnected. Shit. Now I'd pissed him off. Again.

I looked up to see my mom and Grandma Mazur standing in the door behind the screen. Grandma Mazur was my mom's mother and had moved in with my parents when my grandfather had cashed in all his chips for a ride to heaven a few years back.

Now they had a sixth sense for whenever I was approaching; even though I hadn't called, they were clearly expecting me.

"Thank God you're here," Grandma Mazur said when I climbed the steps to the house. "It's been so boring this past week without you! Did you shoot anyone today?"

"No, I didn't. But Joe did, yesterday."

My mom crossed herself and Grandma's face lit up. "Really? Was it a murderer?"

"Not sure. It's an ongoing investigation, so Joe couldn't tell me everything."

Hey, that was true. I had no idea if they men that were shot the day before had been killers, and Joe'd never told me. Grandma looked disappointed. She loved gossip more than funeral parlors, and she loved funeral parlors because there was always good gossip to be exchanged.

"What happened to your jeans? And where is Joe?" My mother asked, looking past me "Is he coming for dinner, too?"

I shook my head. "Joe has to work late tonight. I might even be staying over." Best not to go into the subject of torn jeans.

My mother pressed her lips together and disappeared into the kitchen. She knew there was only one reason I would consider staying at home when Joe wasn't in: I was in danger.

My dad was already at the dining table, ready to eat. I said hello and he nodded, barely looking up.

Joe called when I was just about to ladle potatoes onto my plate. I got up to talk to him in the semi-privacy of the living room, although there was a chance Grandma would follow me.

"Where are you?" He asked, and not in his earlier, friendly-concerned tone.

"I'm at my parents', having dinner. Why?"

"I'm on my way back now and I need to talk to you," Joe said. I didn't know why that fact warranted the slightly irritated tone.

"Something up?"

"I'd rather not tell you over the phone. Tank's already taken Lula to a safe house. Wait for me, I'm close, I will pick you up."

"But why…" I started, but he'd already hung up. What now? Lula in a safe house? What had I missed?

I tried to call Lula for more information, but only got her voicemail. I could have called Ranger, but I wasn't sure if he expected me to apologize for my earlier snippiness. So I sighed and decided to ponder it after dinner.

"Who was that?" My mother asked when I sat back down. My father never interrupted his up and down movement of the fork.

"Joe," I said. "He'll pick me up here and he's probably hungry." I didn't know about that last part, but I knew it would distract my mom. Sure enough, she scurried into the kitchen to set an extra plate.

I dug into my chicken and entertained Grandma with some stories about the day's events. Grandma loved to fantasize about Ranger, so any story with him in it made her day.

We were having coffee and cookies when I heard a car pull up outside.

Joe let himself in and greeted everyone when he came into the dining room. My mother's face lit up and she offered to nuke dinner for Joe.

"Thank you, Mrs. Plum, that will be nice," he replied "I just need to talk to Stephanie first."

And with that, he pulled me up by my elbow and led me upstairs. Not outside. Usually, when he had to talk to me in private, we went outside. What the hell was going on?

We went into the spare bedroom, my former bedroom, and Joe pushed me gently to sit down on the bed.

He ran a hand through his hair. I looked at him expectantly.

"Here's the thing…," he started, but then he exhaled without continuing and looked out the window.

"Joe! What is it??" My voice was starting to get shrill. Joe's head snapped back to face me.

"I guess there's no easy way to say this. I went to new York to check up on Vincent Taylor, a former suspect in this case."

Joe knew how impatient I was. If he was taking any more time, I was going to jump up and shake the information out of him.

"The thing is, Torlione wasn't too happy when he heard about yesterday's raid. That was to be expected. What we didn't know was how he would connect the dots, if any."

Joe sat down next to me.

"The good news is, he only knows about the cops storming in, RangeMan was never mentioned."

"How is that good news? Joe, you're not making much sense."

"I know, Cupcake, I just had to give you some background." He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

"At any point, did Torlione tell you why Lula was kidnapped?"

"He said an associate of his had an interest in her."

Joe nodded, as if I had confirmed something. I tried to take a deep breath, but it wasn't working.

Joe finally noticed my impatience and continued.

"From what Taylor told me, Torlione offered a lot of money to anyone who could find you. And they're trying to find you because you will lead them to Lula. We think this associate is someone obsessed with Lula."

"Come again?"  
Joe nodded. "I know how it sounds, and believe me it's the only explanation of the lot that makes any sense at all."

Someone after me wasn't new at all. Someone after me to get to Lula was a first.

"Huh."

"Yeah," Joe agreed and started nuzzling my neck.

"So you want me in that safe house with Lula?" I asked and inched away from Joe.

He shook his head. "No, we don't want you in the same place. In case they find one of you."

Now there was a reassuring thought. They had already calculated the odds and figured they should be able to keep one of us safe.

"It doesn't make any sense, Joe," I said. "What would Torlione or his partner want with Lula? What makes him think I could be leverage? And why do the cops believe some snitch?"

Joe did a palms-up. "I don't know. No one knows. But I don't want to take any chances."

This brought me to my feet.

"Are you saying you aren't sure any of this is even true?"

Joe looked pained. As if I'd hit the nail on the head. He looked down at his hands in his lap.

"Joe?"

"Steph, I don't want you in Trenton. If there's even a chance of Torlione being after you, I want you as far away as possible." He got up and held his hand out to me. When I didn't react, he sighed.

"No, I don't know if any of it is true," he admitted. "But it could be. And I'd rather have you safe and find out it was a hoax than the other way round."

I couldn't really argue with that logic. I'd rather be safe and laughing than dead and sorry, too. But I still thought a safe house was overkill.

"I think you're overreacting. Why don't we wait until he makes a move first?"

"Because then it could be too late."

"Do you think Torlione is the hooker killer?" I asked.

Joe nodded. "Of course not personally. But from what I understand, every time a girl refused to work for Torlione…" He didn't need to finish that sentence. Lynn-Ann's lifeless body was still fresh in my mind. I realized how close I'd become to being killed and little dots started dancing in front of my eyes.

"But they were never kidnapped," I argued as I sat back down and put my head between my knees.

"All the more reason to believe Taylor. Lula may be unrelated to the murders. But you fit in nicely, and an invitation was extended."

The clanging in my head finally stopped and I lifted it to look at Joe.

"Shouldn't we focus on keeping Lula safe then?" Seemed to me that as long as we took care of Lula, the cops could continue their work and hopefully find some dirt that would stick to Torlione.

Joe squatted down in front of me and took my hands.

"I can't focus on anything if I'm not a hundred percent sure you're out of harm's way."

At that moment, I felt like that was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me. I freed my hands from Joe's and dug them into his hair, pulling him close. I kissed his forehead, his nose, and then his mouth. Joe leaned into the kiss as he wrapped his hands around my hips and held tight.

When we came up for air, I leaned my forehead against Joe's and sighed. I'd made a decision.

"I'll leave Trenton. If you're coming with me."

He pulled back far enough to look at me. "Cupcake, you know I can't leave."

I nodded. "But I can't leave without you either."

I meant it, too. I'd go wherever Joe thought I'd be safe if he was with me. No way was I going alone.

Joe grunted and stood up. He raked his fingers through his hair, as if searching for the right words.

"You know, Steph, usually your stubbornness is what I really love about you. But now is not one of those times. You have to trust me on this one."

This was pointless. We were like two bulls in the ring, neither willing to back down. There were only two ways this could end. We could have a full-blown fight, break up, again, and sulk in our corners. That would safe face, but it wouldn't solve the problem.

Or I could give in and hide, until Joe thought it was okay for me to return. Be the good girlfriend and have the men take care of business. Unfortunately, that wasn't me.

But I didn't want to lose Joe over this either.

"Where's Lula?"

"She's with Tank."

"You see my point?"

Joe sighed. I was seriously testing his patience now. He stood, hands on hips, staring at me.

"Yes, I know what you're saying. But Tank's job is slightly different from mine. He's not the one in charge."

No, that would be Ranger.

"Neither are you. Cilinski is."

I knew it wasn't fair to compare Morelli to Tank when it came to responsibility. I was comparing their jobs as boyfriends.

My voice sounded like I was close to whining. And I didn't whine. I took charge. But I was all out of charge at the moment.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Joe?"

It wouldn't be the first time Joe held his best cards close to his chest.

Joe exhaled and his whole body seemed to deflate. He sat back down next to me.

"We don't know where Torlione or his closest henchmen are," He said softly. "And since we don't know where they are, we have no idea where you'd be safe right now, you could be playing in his backyard if you stay in town."

"Did you talk to Ranger?" I asked. I knew he had access to some information the police may not be able to dig up.

"I meant all of us when I said 'we'," Joe said. "All the king's horses and all the king's men can't come up with his whereabouts."

I was quickly running out of arguments, and the urge to just leave arose. That's what I do best, denial. I flat out deny myself to deal with issues I fear will overwhelm me.

I have a fight with Joe, I leave. I'm scared of my feelings for Ranger, I leave. I'm told to go into hiding, I want to leave. And even if I wanted to be in a corner, if I'm pushed into it, I have to fight it. I'm not proud of it, it's who I am.

I wondered if Joe would ever understand this about me. If he ever figured out how to make it my choice, I might choose exactly what he wants.

"Cupcake?" Joe brought me back into the present. "Bobby is waiting outside to take you to safety."

Ah, he probably took my silence as agreement. Fine, I'd play along. If I ran away now, Joe would be too worried to work, if he didn't catch me before I reached the front door.

Yes, I was scared of Torlione. But I didn't think hiding from him was the solution. Having as many of us as possible out there turning every possible stone was. I knew Bobby was acting on direct orders from Ranger, so there was no reason to expect he'd see it my way. I couldn't get in touch with Lula.

Joe opened the bedroom door and nudged me on by putting his hand on the small of my back. I let him lead me downstairs.

"Are you leaving?" My mom asked from the dining room.

"Yes. I'm sorry, mom, I have to get back to work."

"Joe hasn't had supper yet!" She said, joining us in the downstairs hall. Grandma Mazur was right behind her.

"Do you need any help? I could come with you, nothing on TV tonight anyway."

I smiled. "Not tonight, Grandma. But thanks."

My mother looked at Joe.

"Food sounds great, Mrs. Plum. I'll just see Stephanie out." He said, picked up my shoulder bag from the table and motioned for me to walk out. He was going to stay even though he knew my family would subject him to the Jersey version of the Spanish inquisition about my departure. He was brave.

A black RangeMan SUV was parked behind my Mini. Bobby got out when I opened the door. He was dressed in black and armed to the teeth, from what I could see.

Joe took my elbow and led me down the steps. Bobby nodded a hello and Joe opened the passenger door for me. Bobby took that as his cue to get back into the car.

Joe pulled me close and kissed me.

"Thank you," He said. "I love you. Be safe."

"You too," I said, kissing him again. Then I got into the car and he closed the door for me. He stayed on the curb while we pulled away.

Bobby cleared his throat after a couple blocks and cut his eyes to me.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Five by Five." I said. I had no idea what that meant, must have heard it on a TV show or something, but interestingly, Bobby nodded and continued driving. Traffic was heavy, it was still rush hour.

"Where are we going?" I asked after a few minutes of silence. I was trying to determine how I could get away. Jumping out of the moving car was out, obviously. But should I invent something to make him pull over or take my chances when we got to wherever it was he was taking me?

"Rangeman," Bobby said.

Oh no, that wouldn't work. Ranger's office building that housed Rangeman was a security guard's wet dream; there were cameras and microphones everywhere. RangeMan's main line of business was security, and their headquarters were the best advertisement. I knew, I'd hidden there before. No chance whatsoever of sneaking out. And there was a chance Ranger was there. I couldn't fool Ranger any more than I could fool Morelli, the moment I'd think of escape, he'd know.

I chewed my lower lip. 'Think, Stephanie, dammit!' I told myself, but no idea would come. RangeMan was less than a half hour's drive from my parents' house; I had to come up with something fast, if I didn't want to get locked away until everything was over.

We turned onto Hamilton and I spotted a familiar minivan across the street in the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot.

"Stop here," I said as calm as possible "I need a donut."

This was a totally normal request from me; Bobby had no reason to suspect anything. He hesitated for a moment, and I put on my most desperate face. The one that hopefully told him he wouldn't want to deal with me if I didn't get the donut.

Bobby slowed down and scanned the area for anything suspicious, then he pulled into the parking lot and looked over at me.

"I can't come in with you dressed like this." He gestured at his Kevlar vest "Try to stay in my line of vision."

I nodded and jumped out. I hated doing this to Bobby, I liked him and didn't want him to suffer the wrath of Ranger, but I was a woman on a mission.

"Mare!" I yelled out as soon as I'd pushed the glass door open.

Mary Lou Stankovic, formerly Molnar, my best friend since forever, was standing in line. I'd recognized her car outside.

Mary Lou turned immediately and her face lit up.

"Steph! Fancy seeing you here." She stepped out of the line to greet me.

"I need your help," I said without preamble. I pulled her behind a cardboard display and made sure I stayed visible to Bobby while she was hidden. I was all smiles for his sake; I couldn't count on Mare to catch on. Who would? I didn't even know what I was doing myself.

I explained my plan as quickly as possible; I didn't think Bobby was going to give me much time. Mare hesitated at first, and I could only tell her a shortened version of the goings-on, but she agreed to help me. I hugged her quickly and joined the line to order my donuts while Mary Lou left.

I willed myself to not watch her. There were three people in front of me, and only one person working the counter. This was fine by me, I needed some time.

It was almost my turn when I heard the crash from outside. All heads turned, including mine. I caught Bobby leaving the SUV to check out what had happened.

This was my 2-second window. I rushed out and jumped into the SUV.

When Bobby had parked the SUV, he'd left the engine running, standard Rangeman protocol. Mary Lou crashing into him from behind must have not been in the handbook, he'd left the engine running and the driver's door open.

I'd just put the car in gear when he appeared at the window, and I gunned the SUV out of the parking lot and back onto Hamilton.

Mary Lou to the rescue. Never underestimate the power of friends!

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Thank you for all your reviews, I really appreciate it. I hope you're still enjoying this fic, any and all feedback is welcome.

Muchas Gracias to Stayce, I have some hair left on my head because of you.

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and is no indication of where the story is heading. I think.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: R

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun. But hey, if Joe wants to stay, who am I to object?

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 16

I flew down Hamilton like a bat out of hell, with no idea where to go. I only knew I couldn't go far, because I had to dump the SUV as soon as possible. Otherwise, its GPS thingy would lead the merry men straight to me.

Probably they were already after me. And Ranger would be pissed. Not because I took the car. Not because I fooled Bobby. But because I'd gone against his 'orders'. As soon as Morelli would find out, he'd be steaming, too. Do I know how to anger men or what?

I couldn't keep driving this car, and I didn't have another.

I should have thought of that when I was talking to Mary Lou, should have arranged for her to pick me up somewhere. But probably she would be a while, if cops were called to the scene of the staged accident. And really, I'd asked just about enough of her. Her husband would be pissed, even though I'd pay to repair the minivan.

At least I had my shoulder bag with me. I had money, I had my lip gloss, and I had my gun. What more does a girl need?

I turned off Hamilton onto Liberty, and then I just took my first left. I parked and locked the car, then I set off on foot. I knew Rangeman wasn't far behind; Bobby would have called them first. If he was smart, he'd avoid Ranger for a while though. I felt bad for Bobby. If I made it through this alive, I would apologize to him and buy him a drink. Probably I owed each and every merry man a drink by now, they'd all pretty much gotten hurt when I was around.

I got back onto Liberty and hailed a cab. Since my dad had retired from the post office, he drove a cab part-time. I was hoping tonight wasn't one of those nights. For that matter, I prayed that the cab driver wouldn't even know my dad, because if he did, the Burg would know where I was going before I did. Thankfully, the driver that stopped didn't give me a second look and he didn't look familiar, one less worry.

When I got in and closed the door, I had another problem: where to?

Ranger knew me well; he'd expect me to go back to my parents'. That's where my car was. So that was out. He'd send someone to my sister's house, too. Ditto the bonds office. If he'd called Morelli, the patrol cars of all of Trenton would be on alert to look for me by now.

The cab driver was looking at me in his rearview mirror, getting impatient.

Think, Stephanie, I told myself.

"Grant Street!" I blurted out. I couldn't come up with anything else, I was starting to panic.

I slid down in my seat as the cab drove past the Dunkin' Donuts again, I didn't dare to check on the progress in the parking lot. My cell phone was chirping in my bag, but I ignored it.

It was a long shot, and I was hoping it was one neither Ranger nor Morelli would come up with.

Dougie Kruper lived on Grant. I'd gone to school with Dougie, but more importantly, he was better known in Trenton now as the Dealer. Well, he had been, anyway, until one of the cars he'd sold was identified as stolen. I was hoping he'd have a car left from old inventory. You can't fight crime from a cab. I needed wheels.

The cab pulled up in front of the block of row houses where Dougie lived, and I couldn't see any black and shiny cars. No men in black either. Ranger had been here before though, and there was no guarantee he wouldn't swing by momentarily. He was very good at this 'no stone unturned' stuff.

I paid the fare and jumped out, looking over my shoulder all the way up to Dougie's front door.

After my second knock, the door swung open and Walther 'Moonman' Dumphry stood in front of me.

I'd gone to school with Mooner, too, and he hadn't changed much over the years. He was a goofy pot head in high school, with long hair and dangly limps. He was never quite 'there'. He and Dougie were best buddies. And he was smiling now, his pupils as big as saucers.

He was looking at me, and after the longest pause, recognition set in.

"Dudette!" he exclaimed and opened the door all the way. A while back, Moonman had been FTA, too stoned to remember his court date, and I'd brought him in. That had set a chain reaction in motion that had me see a lot of Mooner for a while; it was as if I'd adopted him or something.

Then Dougie and Moonman had been involved in another case and Ranger and I ended up rescuing them from a crazy lady, but that was a couple years ago now, we hadn't seen or heard from each other for a while.

"How are you, Mooner? Is Dougie in?" I asked as I made my way past him.

"The dealer is always in!" Mooner announced. I could immediately tell Dougie was back in business. Boxes of all sizes were stacked from the foyer into the living room; they looked like they held everything from toasters to TVs.

"Hey do you need a microwave?" Mooner asked.

"One that fell off a truck?"

"Well, yeah, but now it's at a really good price…" Mooner said.

I had to smile. Knowing him, he probably didn't even remember when the cops came to close down their little establishment.

I maneuvered around the boxes and entered the living room where Dougie was watching TV.

"Stephanie!" He said, jumping up. "Long time no see! How have you been?"

I would have loved to stay and catch up, but I had no time to lose. As quickly as possible, I explained my need for a car and a few essentials, and Dougie was more than willing to help out.

Twenty minutes later, I was on my way in a red Honda Civic of questionable origin. It was running, that's all I cared about. Dougie had let me buy it on credit, meaning I could pay him whenever I had the money since I didn't have much cash on me, and I had added a few t-shirts, a pair of jeans, a flashlight and binoculars to my tab.

It was now past eight o'clock, and traffic was easing up. I didn't really have a destination, other than staying out of everybody's way. I'd turned my cell phone off because it wouldn't stop ringing. My guess was that everybody from my Mom to Ranger was trying to get in touch with me, the same number of people that were probably pissed at me now.

I really had no place to just sit and think, so I grabbed coffee and donuts at a drive-thru Dunkin' Donuts and sat in the parking lot.

Munching on my Boston Crème, I took inventory. I had a car and a gun, but no one to help me. Whenever I set out on my own, I normally ended up calling someone for help.

The problem was, the people I would usually turn to were locked up in a safe house or eager to put me in one. I had to do this by myself.

More importantly, I didn't have a plan of action. I'd been so focused on getting away, that I'd never thought beyond that.

Since the reason I didn't want to go into hiding had been that I wanted to be part of the action, I decided to do just that. I was going to try and find Torlione. Not that I was going to confront him or anything, but if I could find him and then call the cops with his location, Morelli might finally see that I was capable of taking care of myself.

If I could find Torlione committing a crime, even better.

So I headed towards the Maison, the only place I really knew to be a known hangout for Torlione and his men.

There were a lot of cars in the Maison's lot for a Monday night; the only spot I could have parked was way in the back, behind the club. Unfortunately that meant I couldn't watch the entrance, and that wouldn't work for me. I couldn't keep circling around, because then I'd draw attention to myself. But I couldn't park and go inside either; I'd stick out like a sore thumb in my current outfit. Plus, if Vega was there, I'd be in more trouble, and this time without backup. Even worse, I didn't know what any of Torlione's men looked like, but they knew me. I couldn't risk being seen by anyone.

Just to be sure Ranger or Joe hadn't beaten me to the club, I took a slow round, looking for any tell-tale black SUVs, unmarked cop cars and any vehicles that didn't look like they belonged. No car stood out, and I didn't see any merry men sitting around in them either.

I decided to rely on the cover of darkness and parked the car. I changed into a black t-shirt I'd gotten from Dougie. I even took my gun out of my bag, stuffed it under the waistband of my jeans and put my cell phone in my pocket. I was trying to convince myself that I was well-prepared and that even though I was alone, I'd be okay. Then I decided it wouldn't help if I sat around thinking of the possible dangers, I just had to chance it. Probably this is the attitude that usually gets me in trouble when I go after FTAs, but in this case, I really didn't see an alternative. I gave myself a little pep talk, channeling my childhood fantasies of Wonder Woman and took a few deep breaths before I left the car.

It was dark behind the building; the parking lot was not lit. I made my way over to the nearest wall and crept towards the front, trying really hard to be aware of my surroundings, as Ranger had often advised.

I froze whenever a car's headlights would light up, melting into the wall as far as possible.

Eventually I stopped in a corner that was completely dark, while allowing me an almost unobstructed view of the entrance. A pick-up was parked nose-in, hiding me from the rest of the parking lot. It was the perfect vantage point.

For the longest time, nothing interesting happened. Cars were arriving, people made their way into the club without seeing me. No bouncers came out shouting 'Hey, what are you doing there?'. A few laughing, happy people left.

I was shivering in the cold night air, my legs were about to fall asleep, and I hadn't seen any familiar face come or go.

I turned my cell phone back on to check my messages. There were ten in all. Three were from Ranger, all saying the same "Call me. Now." Three were from Morelli, going from "Please call me." to "Where are you? At least call me to let me know if you're okay." Two were from my mom, with my grandmother yelling in the background, asking me what I thought I was doing. And two were just breathing, probably Ranger again. I deleted all messages and switched the ringer to vibrate only.

I was thinking about calling Ranger and Morelli when a black Lincoln Towncar pulled into the lot and stopped in front of the entrance. I held my breath. True, anyone could drive a Towncar, but it clearly stood out among the other cars.

I couldn't see through the tinted windows, but when the driver's door opened and a man got out, I had a flash of recognition. He was of normal height and build, nothing extraordinary about him, but something about the way he moved seemed familiar. He went into the Maison, the car left idling.

That was good enough for me. I sprinted back to my car and slowly drove to where I had stood, with the lights off.

When the man returned and got back into the car, my pulse sped up. I watched them reverse; head back towards the lot's exit and wait for a break in traffic to turn back onto the road. Obviously I couldn't drive up right behind them, but I didn't want to give them too much of a lead either. I was hoping they'd have their attention focused ahead of them and not look back as I slowly came closer. Since no one shot at me I seemed to be in luck.

I waited for two cars to go by before I switched on my lights and took a right out of the lot following them. More cars between us would have been safer, but I was afraid to lose them. They were in a black car, and it was dark. I was hoping they'd stay in the city, so that the street lights would keep them visible.

The Lincoln threaded through Trenton and took Route 1. Route 1 leads to anywhere and everywhere, so there was no way of telling where I'd end up. I was hoping it wouldn't be more than half a tank away and we weren't just going to some chauffeur's house.

I left two cars between us, my eyes glued on them. My cell phone was vibrating in my pocket, but there was no time now. My hands were gripping the steering wheel, and I had started to sweat in spite of the cold.

After about five miles, the Lincoln took the exit, and I followed. This road was less busy, but if I hadn't been spotted so far, I could just be another car going the same direction. At least I was in a completely unknown car; no one knew I was driving it. There was of course the possibility that I was following a completely random car, but I didn't think so. I had recognized something about the driver, and I was trying to put my finger on what it was. Where had I seen him before?

There were a lot of houses right off the exit, but the further way we got from Route 1, the more the houses were replaced by trees. There were no street lights; it was just two sets of head lights illuminating the road. I dropped back further, so I'd seem less like a tail.

The Lincoln took a left off the road into what looked like a gravel driveway or narrow secondary road. I pulled over, not daring to follow.

"Now what?" I said out loud, and the sound of my own voice spooked me. I told myself to get a grip and think. What would Ranger do? I knew what Ranger'd do, he'd be in radio contact with ten merry men, assessing the situation and planning their next move. Best not to think about the lack of backup.

My cell phone was angrily reminding me I had a new voicemail. Okay, I decided, procrastinate.

The message was from Joe. This time, he was as curt as Ranger earlier, "Call me."

What could I tell him? 'I'm fine, don't look for me?'

I decided to text him that I was okay and I'd call him soon. I didn't want him to worry about me any more than he probably already did.

My phone buzzed again when I was just scrolling to the text messages, and I answered it accidentally. Shit.

"Steph?" I could hear Joe's voice from the ear piece in my hand. It would be cowardly to hang up now, I decided.

I sighed and lifted the phone up. "Hi Joe."

"Are you alright, Cupcake?" I could tell he was trying hard to stay calm.

"Everything's fine. Look, I'm sorry I just couldn't go into hiding. I have to do this."

There was a pause and I could picture Joe running his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath.

"Where are you? Let me come get you. They found your car, are you still close by?"

"No, I'm…I can't tell you."

"Steph…"

"Joe, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I can't stay away now."

"Then at least let me help you."

I was thinking about that. Did he mean it? Would he lie like that? He'd never lied to me. But maybe his idea of helping me was not exactly what I had in mind?

"I think I'm on to something. I'll let you know when I know for sure."

"No, Cupcake, don't. Don't do this alone. Tell me where you are."

I'd feel much better if Joe was with me right now. But I couldn't risk it. I had to find out if I was really on to something first. Then I'd tell Joe before I got too close. The silence stretched between us.

"Steph?"

"You mean it, you would help me? We'd work together? You wouldn't try to get me to leave Trenton again?"

There was the pause again. I hope it meant Joe was seriously thinking about that.

He sighed, loud enough for me to hear it this time.

"You can't risk being in the middle of things…"

I knew it!

"I'll call you," I said and disconnected. Shit! For a second, I thought Joe would see it my way. No such luck.

I missed Lula. I hadn't spent any time with her in days, except our quality basement prison time that didn't count. And now I really needed her. I spent about two minutes wallowing in self-pity. I even tried to squeeze out a tear for me, but it didn't work. I had gotten myself into this mess, it had been my decision. So as long as I was here, I might as well do what I came here for. That was the best I could come up with, it had to do.

Then I took a deep breath and grabbed the flashlight, I was going to take off on foot. I had no idea how much further the Lincoln had gone, but I was in a somewhat wooded area, and a woman on foot could hide easier than a Honda Civic in the middle of a road.

Since I'd pulled over, only one car had driven by. Good for not getting spotted. Not so good if I'd need help fast.

'Suck it up, Stephanie,' I told myself and looked around. It was dark, but I could make out the dirt road the Lincoln had taken. I took to the bushes on the side of the road and followed it. My eyes were getting used to the darkness. If I walked slowly enough, I wouldn't have to use my flashlight. In my dark clothes, under the cover of the branches, I was pretty well hidden, even if I was shivering from the cold.

I thought I could make out lights ahead, I couldn't tell if they were from a car or a window. I slowly crept closer.

Every time I heard the tiniest sound, I froze on the spot. I was a city girl, nature's sounds were scary. Especially in the dark. I had made it through more than my share of dark backyards and alleys, but houses and people were never far. This time, it was just me and the critters of the night, along with whatever awaited me ahead. Not an ideal scenario.

Whenever the only sound I could hear was my breathing, I continued, trying to tell myself I was a sissy. Wonder Woman would never be scared by an owl. Or the rustling in the underbrush. Or branches scraping her cheeks.

I heard cars from the road where I'd parked, but the sounds were getting fainter.

My head was thumping in my chest and I had an iron grip on my gun and the flashlight.

After the longest time I saw a clearing not far ahead. A few log cabins stood in a semi-circle, the ground in front of them was covered with gravel. A fire pit stood in the middle of the clearing.

The light I'd been seeing came from the cabin in the middle; the two windows facing me were lit.

I squatted down and wished I'd remembered my binoculars. It was hard to see anything, except that the Lincoln was parked in front of the cabins.

If I got any closer, I'd be exposed. But if I stayed here, I wouldn't see anything.

I could feel the minutes ticking by, and I was getting impatient. There was no movement in front or around the clearing, but that didn't mean nobody was there. They could be hiding in the shadows just like I was hiding.

I squatted down and duck-walked to the very edge of the clearing. It wasn't any better, now I was too close to the ground to see anything.

I strained my eyes and ears for any movements or sounds. When all was quiet, I took a deep breath, straightened up and stepped into the clearing. Nobody shot at me, no one yelled. I took that as a good sign and moved on.

I crouched behind the Lincoln; I was about twenty feet away from the cabin. I had to stop to catch my breath. My heart was beating so fast, I was afraid I was going to pass out.

My Keds were making way too much noise on the gravel for my taste. I stopped after every step to listen for tell-tale signs of being discovered.

Finally I reached the cabin and pressed my back against it. Now I could hear voices from inside, but they didn't carry well. I had to get closer!

I inched towards the window, clutching my gun. I had no doubt I'd be able to use it if I had to. Hopefully.

The voices grew louder. I could make out three different ones by now, but still couldn't hear what they were saying. Suddenly it hit me. The man, the driver, I knew where I'd seen him before. He was the guy who'd brought in Lester when I was held at gunpoint, I was almost sure of it. My attention was on Lester then, so maybe I was making it up, but the nagging feeling I'd had ever since I'd seen him at the club subsided somewhat.

I was crouching right under the first window now, trying to find the courage to stand up and peek inside.

I had made it about an inch when I heard a voice that made my blood freeze.

It was Torlione, I didn't need the gooseflesh on my arms to prove it. If my theory was right, he was in there with the guy that had stunned Lester and at least one other man.

Now I could backtrack and call in the troops, I had found him!

But what if I was wrong? What if my nervous mind was playing tricks on me, letting me hear exactly what I wanted to hear? I had to see them to make sure! If I called the cops now, and there were some vacationers in the cabin, I'd never live it down.

The only sounds were still coming from inside the cabin. Whatever was going on, there obviously wasn't a need for guards outside.

I took a deep breath and inched up, while trying to remember if I was more likely to be seen because I was in the dark and they were in the light or the other way around. My plan wouldn't work if I was going to make a nice fat target and they'd see me before I saw them.

There was a noise like a snapping twig and I stilled, not even daring to breathe. I was listening for anything and everything, but my blood was rushing in my ears so loudly now, that I could barely hear the voices from inside the cabin.

I was trying to persuade myself to open my eyes when a hand closed over my mouth and stifled my scream. My heart stopped for a second, I dropped my gun, and that's all it took for my attacker put his free arm over my chest while his hand still had a firm grip on my jaw.

I tried to struggle, but I was held almost immobile. Definitely a man, taller than I was and about twice as strong.

I was pulled backwards while kicking and making angry 'mmmmh, mmmmh' sounds, trying very hard not to pass out from panic.

Where had he come from? I hadn't heard anything.

I was trying to bite his hand, but his grip was so strong, I could hardly open my mouth. It was getting difficult to breathe through my nose because I was too excited to breathe normally.

The world around me started to spin and little black dots started dancing before my eyes.

I was thinking the worst thing I could do was pass out when everything went black.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, I appreciate it.

I love to learn your thoughts on my story and, let's face it, I'm a review addict…

So this is it then, the grand finale…or something. I hope you like!

The title is just a Bon Jovi song and just made a good title in my opinion.

Spoilers: None directly, but events happen after TS

Rating: R

Disclaimer: All characters are JE's, I'm only borrowing them for fun. But hey, if Joe wants to stay, who am I to object?

You Give Love a Bad Name

Chapter 17

When I woke up I was lying on something soft. When I realized I wasn't in my bed or on my couch, I remembered what had happened. I didn't dare to open my eyes; I wanted to get a feel for my situation first. No cuffs on my hands or shackles on my feet, I wasn't bound. Sounds were coming to me form the outside, and it was cold. It felt like I was in the backseat of a car, but it wasn't moving.

I listened for any people close by, I seemed to be alone. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I had been right; I was in the backseat of an SUV. It was still dark outside and I was alone.

I really wanted to find out where I was and whose voices I could hear, but that would have meant looking through the window. Nowhere to hide in a car.

After a couple minutes, my curiosity won out and I lifted myself up on my elbows, inch by inch.

I was looking out at the mouth of the dirt road and the clearing. Several SUVs were parked around me and I recognized a figure close by: Ranger. He was talking to a large man who had his back to me, I knew it wasn't Tank but couldn't recognize who it was. Ranger had his face to me.

Anger boiled up in me. He'd been my attacker?? He'd snuck up on me and held me, leaving me fighting for my life and passing out from lack of air??

I got up into a sitting position and pulled on the door handle. The door didn't open, the child locks must have been in place.

Ranger looked up and put his finger on his lips in the universal 'hush' gesture. I sent him a death glare. He said something to the merry man, and the merry man turned around. It was Hal.

Hal turned and came over to me; he opened the front door and climbed into the passenger seat.

"How're you doin', Stephanie?" He asked. The nerve!

"How am I doing? I'm fucking pissed, Hal. What the fuck happened? And why is Ranger sending you to let me out?" My voice had gotten progressively louder and I was on the verge of screaming now. Hal didn't look like he knew what to do.

"Calm down," he said, "And most of all, keep it quiet! We have Torlione surrounded in the cabin back there." He gestured to a point behind himself.

"I am aware of that," I said as if I was talking to a small child, "What I want to know is why I was knocked unconscious and am locked up here."

Okay, so it was a fib. I'd noticed I was maybe 100 feet from the cabin, but I didn't know anyone was still inside. But the whole location had been my discovery in the first place!

I glared at Hal and he shook his head.

"Sorry, I can only tell you what I know. When I got here, you were already in the car. The boss got here first."

I should have known. Ranger was the only person I knew who could sneak up on anyone without being noticed.

"Get me out of here!" I demanded. A plastic barrier like a dog gate was keeping me from just climbing over the seats.

"Sorry," Hal said again, "My orders are to keep you inside."

I was very close to exploding. Who did Ranger think he was? No one locks me up. Well, okay, apart from a few psychos and a dangerous pimp, but never someone I'd call a friend.

Hal didn't meet my eyes; he seemed as uncomfortable as I was. I felt sorry for him, but even angrier at Ranger. He hadn't even had the balls to tell me himself.

A while ago, I'd been able to outsmart Hal. The situation had been similar, he'd been trying to keep me inside and I wanted out. I zapped him with his own stun gun. He wasn't holding a stun gun now. And I was unarmed. Damn.

"Get Ranger!" I almost growled and glared at Hal. It would have never worked on Morelli, he knew me to well, but Hal actually flinched and got out of the car. Heh!

Moments later, Ranger got in. His face was expressionless.

"Don't give me a hard time on this, Babe."

"On what exactly, Ranger? On you attacking me and rendering me unconscious? On you locking me up in your car? On you hogging my discovery?" I was shrieking now and Ranger actually had the nerve to grin.

"Yeah," he said, "any of those, actually." He said calmly.

"Let. Me. Out of here." I pressed out through clenched teeth.

"I know you don't believe me, but it's best if you stay right here. The cops are going to take over and their orders were to keep you safe."

I raised my eyebrows. "The cops took time out of their busy schedule to issue orders on me?" I asked sarcastically.

Ranger sighed. "Morelli and I agreed on this."

Aha! Now we were getting somewhere. Ranger and Morelli in cahoots, wonders never cease. I wanted to scratch their eyes out.

"Babe, if you calm down for a minute, I'll tell you everything."

He knew he had me. I was dying to find out what was going on, and clearly, Ranger didn't fall for any of my tricks.

"Fine," I said and crossed my arms over my chest, focusing my eyes on my shoes.

I heard Ranger chuckle and anger threatened to surface again, I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming at him.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I had to get you away from the window without making a fuss." Ranger explained.

"What the hell do you think you were doing out here by yourself?"

I looked up. "How did you know where to find me?" I asked slowly, although I had a feeling I knew the answer. I was going to throttle Morelli when I saw him.

"We tracked your cell signal." Yup, that's what I'd suspected. Bastards!

"It turns out I got here too late, you had already gotten too close. I had to get you to safety."

I scoffed. He wasn't helping my fury any. I was bouncing my leg in an effort to contain myself.

Ranger shook his head.

"I can see I'm not getting anywhere here. I'll be back when you've calmed down."

Oh no, I wasn't going to let him push that button! He was counting on me to promise I'd be good, if only he'd told me. Not this time. I was pissed.

Ranger got out of the car and slammed the door shut.

Fine, I could imagine the rest anyway. I'd found the bad guy and the cops were going to take the credit for it. Probably Cilinski and Morelli would get their picture in the paper for catching the big bad guy.

I'd been sitting alone in the car for a half hour according to the clock in the dash, and I was starting to feel ridiculous. I'd acted like a spoiled child. I still thought I had a right to; it just hadn't gotten me anywhere.

Two black SWAT cars had gone by and a whole team had gotten out of them. I couldn't see everything because no one had set up giant flood lights, but it looked like they were surrounding the cabin.

Okay, so they were better equipped than I had been. But my plan all along had been to call them. It's just that I wanted to be the one to decide when to bring them in. Brute force had not been necessary any more than caging me in.

Yup, I was still fuming, ridiculous or not.

Two large backs were guarding the SUV's front doors. Hal and, from the looks of it, Lester. Hard to tell with men that tall, I could only see part of the back of their heads.

Apparently, Ranger didn't trust the car to hold me for too long without extra precautions. Oh, I was going to set him up on a date with Grandma Mazur for this!

On someone's command, Hell was unleashed. I ducked when the first shots were fired, I didn't want to risk catching a stray bullet. With my luck, anything was possible.

I couldn't see much anyway. A lot of shouting and what sounded like machinegun fire. A big bang, probably from the door being broken down. Blue and whites had come in and illuminated the scene with their strobe lights.

When the gunfire stopped I came back up. Men were running around frantically. It was a surreal scene in the pulsing lights. I strained my neck to make out any faces, but I was only able to see some man being escorted to a waiting squad car. There was more shouting, sounding like commands being barked. I wondered if Ranger was among the people ahead with the merry men not assigned to guarding the car I was in. And now I really wished I'd brought my binoculars.

An ambulance drove by, followed by two more cars, probably unmarked cop cars.

Now I was getting antsy. Waiting killed me. I was going to crawl out of my skin any moment now. Focusing totally on my impatience, I jumped when there was a knock on the window next to me. I might have yelped.

The door opened and Morelli leaned down to be face to face with me. I was trying really hard not to slap him.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Oh sure, play the concerned boyfriend now. I turned away from him.

"Cupcake?"

"You're not my favorite person right now, Joe." I've always wanted to say that line.

Joe chuckled. Even when I was mad as all Hell, I still amused him. If I turned around now, I'd scratch his face for sure.

'Oh yeah, Stephanie, real mature' I reprimanded myself 'Go amuse the boys some more, you're on a roll.'

I sighed. Joe was still behind me, I could feel him.

"Steph?" He asked softly and touched my shoulder. He was using his sexy voice, too, he knew how much I liked it. Now I was angry at myself because I was so easy.

I blew out some air and stayed as I was.

"Cupcake, I'm sorry. It was for your own good. We arrested Torlione…"

"We???" I spun around, screaming. "We, Joe?? You and I??"

Morelli drew back and ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't have time for this right now," he said, "I'll explain it all later, I promise. Ranger's men are going to take you home, okay??"

I didn't dignify that with an answer. Partly because I couldn't come up with anything not totally whiny and ridiculous to say. And partly because I really wanted Morelli to understand he was in the doghouse this time.

Joe closed the door softly and signaled to Hal.

I'd guessed right, the second man was Lester. He opened the driver side door and winked at me.

"Ready to leave this soiree, Milady?" He asked on a wink.

I couldn't help myself, I had to smile. He was such a charmer. And I reminded myself I wasn't mad at him, just his boss.

"Sure," I said, "take me home, James." What the hell, I wasn't getting any closer to the action anyway. Not that I wanted to, I just wanted it to be my choice.

Hal had caught my response and exhaled relieved. Probably he was glad hurricane Stephanie had passed.

I had Lester stop at McDonald's. I'd earned it. Probably he didn't want to risk getting me angry, he pulled into the first drive-through after we got back into the city.

He surprised me by getting a Big Mac meal for himself, Hal just ordered a water. How the action of the evening didn't make him hungry for junk food was beyond me. I ordered my usual meal and an apple pie plus a milkshake. Now that my adrenaline was wearing off, I was starving.

I grabbed the bag Lester handed me and dug in greedily. One whiff of the fries and I felt my anger ease up already. No health food in the world could ever have this kind of power. Whenever I tried to eat healthy, I turned into a real bitch.

By the time we turned onto Slater, I was almost back to normal, finishing the last of my apple pie.

I could almost feel Hal's relief from the front seat and I wondered if they'd drawn the short straw to be assigned Stephanie duty in the first place. I was already feeling bad for giving Hal such a hard time earlier. When Lester pulled up to the curb in front of our house, I thanked them briefly and got out.

"Thanks for the food." I almost mumbled with the door in hand.

"Any time, Bombshell, you know that. Take care." Lester said and smiled.

I mirrored Hal's nod and closed the car door. Moments later, the engine was turned off. They were going to stay.

I rolled my eyes although no one could see me but forced myself to not turn around and comment. No harm in two body guards.

Bob was beside himself with excitement when I opened the door. He rushed past me to pee on the minuscule front lawn before he turned and leaned against me for a proper greeting. I hugged him and kissed his head. He made sure I didn't have any food to go with the smell on me and ran into the kitchen. I stopped by Rex's cage to tell him about my day. He stopped running on his wheel momentarily, whiskers twitching. Once he'd made sure I was alright, he resumed his workout.

The food had mellowed me out; I took a quick shower and dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt.

When I thought about it, Ranger and Morelli had been right. After all, what would I have done if I'd stayed?

Okay, so now I needed a way to eat crow without losing face. No way was I going to apologize for being a brat when they had treated me like a little girl.

I plopped down on the bed and assumed my thinking position, flat on my back, staring at the ceiling.

After an hour, I hadn't gotten any new ideas. It was now past midnight and probably too late to call anyone. But I had to catch up with Lula.

Rex was still running on his wheel when I got downstairs, but Bob had settled in for the night. I tip-toed around him to my bag.

I had three new voicemails, but I ignored them and just punched in Lula's number. It rang so many times, I thought her messaging service would pick up, but finally she answered.

"I hear you're protected better than the president. Hope I didn't wake you," I greeted her. She laughed at that.

"Nah, we're just takin' a break. How you're doing girlfriend?"

"Uhm…" I had no come back for what she had implied. "Did you get some rest today?" What a stupid thing to ask. But it was better than 'How's Tank in bed?' or something.

"No rest for me. But I ain't complaining. I've never seen so much of Tank since I've met him."

And when she told me all about how she'd spent the last two days, I got a little bit jealous. No one had paid that close attention to me. Then I reminded myself that I chose to be unprotected.

"So you're in a safe house?" I asked.

Lula giggled at that. Lula never giggles. I wasn't so sure I wanted to know what had her in giggles.

"I'm at Tank's house," She almost whispered, "But it's really safe, since he mostly guards me with his body…"

I was happy for Lula. And I tried to remember why I had resisted so hard to go back to RangeMan with Bobby. I could have taken a shower with Ranger's unbelievably sexy shower gel and would be sleeping in 1200 thread count cotton sheets by now. Screw independence, where had it gotten me?

"Where you at?" Lula wanted to know.

"I'm at home."

"Sheeet, you got to stay with Officer Hottie?"

If only. I filled her in on my evening and I could feel her shake her head on the other end.

"You mean you could have gone to the Bat cave and you chose to run out on Bobby and play Charlie's lone angel instead?"

Well, when she put it that way I almost wanted to deny it. I sighed. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Girl, you make some weird choices." I couldn't argue with that.

There was some noise on Lula's end and she giggled again.

"I gotta go," She said, "Tank's back and ready for action. I'll talk to you tomorrow." And she disconnected. I was ready for that kind of action, too, but it didn't look like I was going to get any tonight. Even if Morelli got home before I fell asleep, I still had to have a serious talk with him. That usually took my sex drive away.

I got myself a beer and switched on the TV, determined to wait up for Morelli.

I woke up when Bob was pressing his cold, wet nose onto mine and I heard the front door lock tumble.

Morelli walked into the living room as I was trying to push Bob off of me. The early dawn twilight was shining through the windows.

"Lucky dog," Morelli said, leaning on the door jamb. He looked exhausted, but incredibly sexy.

"Hey," I said, noncommittally.

Morelli walked in and grabbed my unfinished beer off the table, then he plopped down onto the small space of the couch I didn't fill up with a hearty sigh.

I pulled myself up into a seating position and tucked my legs under me. Should I start this? Should I wait for him to start? Was he waiting for an apology or was I? This was exactly why I usually avoid all confrontations; I go with denial and leave. That way, by the time you see the other person again, there may no longer be the need for a serious talk. I missed my own apartment. There was nowhere for me to go, I lived with Morelli now. Unless I wanted to move back in with my parents, I was stuck.

"How're you feeling?" Morelli asked after a long pull on his beer. Bob had his head on his lap and Morelli was petting him absentmindedly. His eyes were on me.

I shrugged. "I'm okay. Tough night?"

Morelli pushed Bob off his lap and stretched his legs. "It got easier when I knew you were safely at home."

Oh sure, go the guilt way. It was working, too, I knew he'd been worried about me after he'd heard of my escape. I met his gaze but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry I traced your call. You didn't give me a choice."

It was hard to pretend I was still mad at him, especially because I thought he looked very sexy. His green flannel shirt was rumpled and dirty, the grey t-shirt underneath was torn to reveal a swatch of his taut stomach. His long, lean legs were clad in black jeans that were tight in all the right places.

"I'm sorry I ran away from Bobby. You didn't give me a choice." I countered.

Joe got up and went into the kitchen. I was just about to follow him to show I wasn't finished, when he returned with two beers.

"Let's drink to being even then," He suggested and smiled for the first time since he'd gotten home.

"It's six in the morning." I protested weakly as I already reached out for the beer.

Before he handed it over, Morelli pulled me into a bear hug and held me tight.

"I didn't know any other way to keep you safe, Cupcake. I wasn't trying to take the credit for your work, I was trying to keep you alive." He murmured, his mouth close to my ear.

I sighed and leaned into him. "I know."

He felt good, and he smelled good. And just like that, I felt better. He was unhurt, I was safe, and we'd live to see another day. He may need a couple pointers how to get me to see his point in the future, but as far as apologies were concerned, he was all set.

I got my beer as we pulled apart and Joe raised his for the toast. "Peace and love?" He asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Peace and love," I agreed and we both took a sip before we settled back into the living room. We curled up on the couch and I asked Joe to tell me the whole story.

"So I get the call from Ranger and I had an idea what he was going to tell me before I answered it…" He started and sighed. I put my head on this lap and his arm settled on my stomach.

"Was he the one to suggest tracing my cell?"

"Uh-huh. I went over right away, Cilinski had it covered. We took turns calling you, but only ever got your voicemail."

He traced lazy circles with his index finger and I was afraid my attention would not be on the report for much longer.

"How'd you get a car?"

Ha, I had outsmarted both Ranger and Morelli! I mentally high-fived myself before I told Joe about Mooner.

"Of course," He chuckled, "I'd forgotten all about the Dealer."

I nodded. "I had to get a car since I figured you'd have my parents' house and Valerie's covered."

"True. We went after the RangeMan SUV thinking you forgot about the GPS."

I turned to look at Joe. "You don't know much."

He smiled and kissed me lightly.

So anyway, when I finally got you, the guys went right to work. I just had to keep you on the line for two minutes." Joe continued.

I thought back to the phone call. There had been a lot of pauses, but I had attributed it to Joe's temper. I guess he'd been buying time.

"And whose idea was it to take me out of the picture the Rambo way?" I asked.

Joe scoffed. "Guess." His hand wandered up to my hair and he was stroking it. I was about to purr.

"I said you'd go apeshit, but he said it was the only way to get you to safety quietly."

I thought about that for a second and had to agree with Ranger. I'd been so excited at the time, I would have screamed if I'd notice anyone approaching me. Still, I was already scheming my payback.

"He got a little nervous when you passed out though. I think I've seen Manoso as close to flustered as he gets. Once we made sure you just fainted, we got you onto his car and out of harm's way so the guys could set up."

My answer to that was just "Hrrrmph", I wasn't quite ready to admit they'd done the right thing.

Joe ignored my comment.

"We'd only come in two cars, we never thought you'd actually found Torlione!" I could tell that Joe was actually proud of me. That was a first.

"You know I always get my man!" I said, slapping his arm lightly as I took a long pull on my beer.

Joe chuckled again. "I should know better by now. I don't know how you do it, luck doesn't seem like the right word. But you always find what you come looking for."

Yeah, that pretty much summed it up. I didn't know how I did it either, but I kept that part to myself. If Morelli wanted to admire my talents, who was I to object?

"It was nothing short of a miracle how fast Cilinski got everybody mobilized." He shook his head at the memory "You saw the getup, we had SWAT and everything!"

Deep down, Joe was such a guy. Show him big guns and heavy cars and he starts drooling like Lula and I at a Macy's shoe sale.

"The whole time, Manoso and I are waiting, afraid the guys finish their little meeting early or something." He ran his free hand through his hair, frowning.

"Of course we didn't know at the time they were planning on staying a while. It turned out they were entertaining a guest…"

"A guest?"

"Dominique Wettenhall, a local business owner. He was behind on his insurance payments. Really behind."

"So they were gonna let him renew his policy by way of broken legs?" I asked. I've heard stories like that all my life. The mob was well established in Trenton. It made sense that Torlione would try to imitate them.  
"Something like that," Joe confirmed "He was cuffed to a chair and there were lots of tools on the table."

I shuddered. Not just out of pity for Wettenhall, but at the thought of what could have happened to me. I had assessed Torlione right from the moment I'd seen his picture.

"So you didn't just find Torlione, you walked in on a crime in process. We didn't need a search warrant or anything, because there was just cause." Joe was smiling again. "And Wettenhall is more than willing to testify, so we have Torlione by the balls!"

"Who was the ambulance for? And why all the shooting?" I asked.

Joe sighed. "They kinda didn't like us barging in. One of his men was shot and killed, the others injured. But mostly they were warning shots. Torlione was arrested without too much damage."

"Meaning?"

"One of the SWAT guys may have slammed him into a wall kinda rough…"

"Do you think they can get him for the murders?" It seemed like racketeering was nowhere near enough to pin on him.

"Well," Joe seemed to think about it, "They have him in jail. Now we have to get to work and find witnesses and shit, build the case. But we can do that now knowing he's not going anywhere."

He still looked exhausted, but I could see relief under the stress.

"And what about his partner, the one who was after Lula?"

"Nothing yet. The men in the cabin were all goons of his. We'll see if we can find out anything."

"So Lula is still in danger?"

Joe showed his wolf grin. I knew what he was thinking. Probably Tank was the one in danger. I was pretty sure he'd be on Lula duty until that part of the case was resolved.

"I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Lucky Lula."

Joe leaned over me, still wearing his wolf grin.

"You know, I could make sure you know how Lula feels."

And then he kissed me. It felt like my toenails were curling up. His tongue parted my lips and went exploring my mouth. I'd missed this.

I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him as close as possible. His hands snuck under my shirt and I moaned into his mouth.

When I was close to melting, Joe pulled away.

"What do you say we continue this upstairs, Cupcake?" He asked a little hoarse. He didn't wait for my answer; he just picked me up and carried me upstairs. I kinda liked Macho Joe.

And I was going to enjoy him all day; I was not going to accept any interruptions.

The End


End file.
